


The Ring and the Bridle

by D_Morgenstern



Category: African Mythology - Fandom, Faerie Folklore, Fantasy - Fandom, Hindu Mythology, Original Work, Scottish Mythology
Genre: African American Character, Amputation, Battle, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Male Character, Blood, Blood Magic, Complete, Dysfunctional Family, F/F, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Family Issues, Family Secrets, Fantasy, Fat Character, Fat positive, Female Character of Color, Female Friendship, Female Homosexuality, Female Protagonist, Forced Marriage, Gay Male Character, Hindu Character, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Jinn, Kelpie - Freeform, Low Fantasy, M/M, Magic-Users, Magical Realism, Male Character of Color, Male Homosexuality, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Multicultural, Multicultural Fantasy, Muslim Character, Neurodivergent Main Character, Neurodiversity, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Original Fiction, Original Universe, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Princes & Princesses, Pseudo-Incest, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Scottish Character, Selkies, Strong Female Characters, Vietnamese Character, Vietnamese Mythology, Waterhorse, each uisge, fat female character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 06:07:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 150,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7703455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/D_Morgenstern/pseuds/D_Morgenstern
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eddie accidentally incurs the wrath of a kelpie when she save her older brother from drowning. Instead of finding help from the local magic community however she instead finds herself "being pulled three different ways". By the old woman and her jinn who may have ulterior motives, the eternally young Scot with a guilty conscience, and most of all by the local enchanter who offers her a golden bridle to enslave her foe. </p><p>The choice however is hers alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

With a splash the ring was swallowed into the dark abyss that lay beneath the glassy surface of Lake Santos. The young man tried to leap after the treasure, his arm extended and fingers grasping futilely. There was an expression of horror on his face as the silver band sparkled in the midday sun in its flight before it disappeared.

He had brought it out of its velvet box only for a minute. Only to show his younger sister the garnet stone he meant to have polished when they reached town. With trembling fingers he had exposed it to the light and laid it on his palm. Perhaps his fear of telling her why he had the sacred band had caused the jolt that had propelled it from his hand. It had fallen in an arch from his palm, over the side of the old bridge, and drowned in the water below.

“Matt! It's not worth it!" his sister roared as she grabbed onto the back of his jacket as he tried to stand on the uneven wall. He slipped out of the jacket, leaving her to hold it with a smoldering glare as he quickly slipped off his sneakers. He turned to her with a pleading expression.

"Eddie, it’s _Mom's_ ring!" he explained, and her eyebrows rose in surprise at his removing the relic from its vault in the broom closet.  
"The water is cold and dark, you'll never find it!" she argued but could only watch helplessly as he stood erect and then dove into the depths below.

"I'll be counting your time!" she warned, and with small, shallow breaths counted exactly 120 seconds as she anxiously shifted her weight from leg to leg.

She bit her lip between each whisper of a number, and pulled on the still warm leather of his jacket. At the two minute mark it was thrown into the dirt of the decayed road. For a reason she could not but later label a premonition, she remembered the small silver switch-blade in her pocket that had been given as a gift from her brother. It usually only provided comfort but today it may save. It was unsheathed and the handle was delicately placed in her mouth. Then Eddie stripped herself of her own jacket and shoes and followed her brother's dive.

A sharp rain of spikes and pricks cut into her skin as she broke the water's surface. She gasped, and the torrent of bubbles briefly obscured her vision. When she propelled herself further down however she saw Matthew's writhing form. Trailing lines of bubbles erupted from his frenzied movements. Struggling but unable to move it was obvious he had become caught upon something. With frantic and cutting motions she descended into the darkness that lingered at the bottom of the lake. Something was wrapped about his foot. It was obscured however in the waving weeds. The knife was drawn from her mouth. With a vicious strike she tried to cut into the mass around his ankle. The water made her movement sluggish however and the blow landed a few inches away from its intended target by Matthew’s twisting ankle.

The first thing she realized was that whatever she had just jammed her blade into was not an aquatic plant. It was too soft and the blade easily removed from the mass. Second, the veritable screech that vivisected the depths followed by a volley of bubbles indicated she had just unwittingly harmed an animal. Matthew was freed however and he kicked his foot free. Terrified beyond all measure she quickly followed his desperate rise to the surface. The trail of blood following his wake was quickly dispersed into a muddy red haze by the chopping motions of their legs.

The surface seemed more distant before, as if there was a great barrier between her and the distant sky. She reached towards life and feeling her brother begin to struggle besides her she grasped his arm and forced him towards the surface. She focused all her energy, desire, and determination at that distant point. There was a feeling of a tear and she pushed through to rend it open to the sky above.

The air was painful to take in after that first break, but the terrified siblings swam for the shore with the desperation of life. Bodies exhausted from their brief brush with death they forced themselves to crawl over the sharp rocks that lined the surf. Small cuts on their hands supplemented the blood already in the water. She threw herself upon the dirt she coughed and slowly turned on her side to face him.

"Did you scream when I cut you?" she gasped between hacking water from her aching lungs and pushing the bedraggled hair from her face.

"You didn’t cut me." he panted, gagging on a piece of Fairy Weed as he pulled it from his throat. Matthew glanced at her, “why do you think you did?”

"I…" she groaned as she rolled onto her back, wincing at the dull ache pulsating in her chest. “I heard a scream, and saw blood.”

“I heard the scream, but I didn’t see any blood. That may have just been mud.”

“Yeah,” Eddie sighed and chased away the thought of something trying to drown her brother. What an absurd thing to think!

The scream however…

“I didn't even get the ring back!" Matthew suddenly remembered. He glowered at the water as he forced himself to sit up.

"Just leave it Matt; I swear I will kick your balls into your throat if you try to get the damned thing back!" She snarled as she also sat up, staring him down. He looked away, but his voice was bitter and unyielding when he spoke again.

"It's Mom's ring though! I can't just-"A sound skin to a horse's death scream interrupted his statement. He gasped as he stared at the upset water that should have been calming by now. He flinched when his sister grabbed him, her body violently shivering as she watched the unnatural action.

"Fuck, we're leaving! Something is surfacing!" she said in a rushed whisper, pulling on him to get him to stand. He didn't resist even as he stared at what had cried out at his escape.

With unsteady legs they began to run. They made an awkward scramble up the hillock as they were both shivering and their tissues were still otherwise deprived of oxygen.

"What the hell was that?" Eddie gasped after she had led her brother back onto the main road and a considerable distance from the bridge where their jackets and shoes were left to enjoy the mild sun of the Californian spring. "Shit, what makes that noise! It sounded like a horse getting its head cut off!"

"I don’t know; heard a rumor once someone long ago had let alligators loose into the Via Verde River. Maybe it’s true?" He suggested quietly as he pulled away from her to lean on a tree. Eddie frowned; she didn’t think even an alligator could possibly have made such an unearthly noise. Though as she had no real experience with one she was happy however to try to rationalize the inexplicable encounter in whatever way she could.

"Maybe," she allowed.

He sighed, and reached down to pat her hair, only to have it become entangled in the sopping knots.

"Might be a good time to pick up a dictionary of wildlife, huh?" he asked sardonically as he removed his fingers.

"Especially as I left my knife there, could have gotten a blood sample," she sniffed.

"You think you discovered some new species?" he laughed as he walked down the road. She shrugged, hugging her arms around her waist.

"Yep, a Matthew-eating crocodile.”

“ _Alligator_. Crocs couldn’t live in a lake,” Matthew sniffed.

“No there’s freshwater ones, and they’re bigger.” _For something to surface like that._ She felt a cold hand caress her spine at the memory. She glanced back and while she saw nothing on the road, and certainly a crocodile or alligator would not have come this far, her lingering adrenalin left her with the impression she was being _watched._  
“What should I tell Pops?” Matt asked quietly about the ring.

“Don’t.” Was Eddie’s firm reply and it wasn’t questioned. She looked down at their dripping outfits; and no shoes on their feet!

She groaned, "If anyone came down this road now they think we were escapees from some psycho-killer cult."

“I’m sorry we didn’t get to the bookstore.” Matthew glanced down at her.

“It’s totally fine.” Eddie waved her hand, she had long since forgotten all about her project in her horticulture course. She recalled after a few seconds what had inspired his nearly fatal dive.

"Why were you getting Mom's ring cleaned anyway?" She asked, her arms tightening around her chest as she saw his shoulders tense as he strode ahead of her. His tenuous steps didn’t falter however.

"I…was hoping to give it to Kelly." He said softly, and looked at his feet. He glanced over his shoulder at her. She was standing on her tip toes, frozen in mid-breath with wide eyes, which glimmered with…tears? He frowned and turned completely around, raising a hand to soothe her. He nearly fell over when she lunged at him, enclosing his waist in a hug as her face plastered onto his chest.

"Oh Matt…I'm so happy for you!" she whispered, and he relaxed after he had steadied his stance.

The young doctor had become like a softly shinning sun, showering Matthew in a warm light. The woman was beautiful, accomplished, and very well bred. Those characteristics were adornments to the mantle of her kind and patient nature. She was a woman that should have a large family, for she could cover a legion with her love.

Eddie had at first been wary of the relationship as there was such a large divide between their social situations. Kelly was the daughter of a successful entrepreneur and brought up in wealth. Eddie and Matthew were of the working class and more over of mixed heritage. Kelly’s mother had been born in the foothill community of Orangeblossom but had been raised in marriage to the higher clime of Los Olivos with its secluded upper class and the lushness of Palisade Beach.

Love bloomed however in any difficult place. Eddie could see the change in her brother’s smile that had once existed for her alone. He shared it now to the world. Eddie had always wished for him to be happy and now he seemed to have found it. She wanted him to have everything he deserved and Matthew of all people deserved a pretty, accomplished, and loving wife.

Matthew had made Eddie’s young life a paradise of security and love. Only he had always been with her, and had never left her. If he had found his own happiness at last she would give it to him wrapped in a glimmering bow.

“Eddie,” he sighed softly. He patted her head and she tried to not flinch as he accidentally pulled at a knot. “I’m glad to hear that. It’ll mean a big change for us both.”

“I know,” she stepped back. She had been a little jealous of Kelly at first because she had known if she replaced her in Matthew’s heart, things would change. She had forced such bitter feelings away however reminding herself she was no longer a spoiled and petty child. Had she not endeavored to become a better person after all of her failings? So she had challenged herself to view the relationship as a beautiful dawn, just waiting to break. Matthew would be able to leave her behind at last, and she would stand on her own.

“But I’ll make it.” She reassured him. She smiled at him and he gave a small smile back after taking in her determined expression. The smile felt almost painted on but she would one day make it valid.

"Well, let's get home Eddie, I'm afraid I'll have to think of a way to buy a new ring.” Matthew sighed but looked back at his sister. "I never said thank you, I guess I was just too exhausted before. But really you saved me back there, from whatever that was."

Eddie looked down at her muddy and raw feet, "Don't mention it."

She glanced up to where a black curl clung to her brother's cheek and suffocated the urge to push it behind his ear lest the hopeful expression leave his face.

 

 

Eddie’s great-aunt, Mindy Mandau, had inherited her father’s orange orchards. In response to the changing economic landscape of the region the daughter had reduced the orchards that had once spread for dozens of acres to two three acre lots and the rest of her land had become open pastures for beef cattle. The Double M Ranch was the encapsulation of a dream and the shared legacy of Mindy and her deceased husband.

The doe-goat, the small flock of chickens and turkeys were to add a few more options for potential buyers and the family’s own table. The geese were for guarding the yard and to keep the orchards clean and fertilized. The dogs were to guard the cattle, the cats to catch mice, and the peacocks to guard the flocks from hawks and ravens and be a general nuisance to all who came near.

Matthew and Eddie rented the backhouse of their aunt’s ranch at a small fee. It was a cozy two bed room cottage that was sealed from all drafts despite its age and was of a lovely old farmhouse design. It was only a few meters walk from the main house as well and the space between the two homes served as the barnyard of the farm portion of their aunt’s enterprise.

And the niece and nephew were to help out with this great microcosm of order along with the two other ranch hands. They were a married couple. La-La took care of the housework and Tom helped the siblings with the day to day ranch chores and work.

Eddie left the backhouse after a small breakfast as she did most mornings. She and Matthew both worked in town. Matthew however had an even earlier shift at the auto shop than hers at the café, and she found herself walking alone the next morning. She had not wanted to sacrifice that extra hour of sleep even with a restless night.

The town of Orangeblossom laid in the greater Santos basin. It caught what rainfall became trapped against the mountains. It was a fertile farming area with vineyards and orchards lining gentle hills. The freeway was far enough away to not be heard, but close enough that the great cities of Southern California were all accessible within an hour’s drive. It was quaint in a word. It was a place that may be stopped at for gas or a bite to eat on the way out to the desert or the mountains, or, more often, on the way to Los Olivos, the resort town that laid only about thirty miles away in a beautiful mountain valley.

The Via Verde River ran to the west of the town, chasing the natural topography towards the ocean. Its wellhead was in Lake Santos, the body of water perched against the mountains, and it dominated the eastern half of the basin. The path everyone simply called "by the old bridge" took the traveler over the narrowest point of the lake and made Eddie's own journey to town twenty minutes shorter than if she simply followed the highway from her aunt’s ranch. Matthew used it as well, and she wondered as she pushed aside a low lying branch to get on the old dirt path, if the same sight had greeted him.

The lake was as calm as ever with only limpid ripples marring its surface. It mirrored the desolate sky and was now akin to an obsidian surface rather than its usual green or even blue reflection on brighter days. Eddie wiped her nose, and chased away the thought that she had never seen the lake look so dark. She certainly had, there had been days like this before and she had lived here for a little less than two years now. She approached the path and blamed the terror of yesterday for coloring her thoughts.

As she walked down the bridge she began to feel as if she was being watched. As if something was following behind her, stalking her. She turned to find herself alone on the bridge, on the road, and in the expansive landscape all around her. She stood completely still and only an errant bird song and the movement of the water below reached her. She raised a hand to her forehead in consternation. What was wrong with her? When she lowered it she saw a horse standing by the lakeshore.

The horse was black, standing with his elegant head raised, ears pricked forward. At first she thought of the Spanish pacing horses that the Montesano family up the road bred. It was a heavy horse with long, strong legs. When the animal turned to show her his flank however she realized even with the heavy arch of his neck this was not a stepping horse. The rump was too flat, the shoulder too low, in fact she had never seen a horse like this before.

He was a magnificent animal, and she found herself walking towards him. Who had lost such a wondrous stallion? The horse nickered, completely friendly. She raised a hand to touch the mane, full of water weeds.

 _Wet_. The horse was soaking, like it had been drenched. In the lake? Eddie’s eyes moved away and the horse stepped forward, offering his soft muzzle. Her hand wavered. No, something was wrong. Why was this horse here? Why was it wet from head to hoof? Horses didn’t dive. Why was its right eye cloudy? Like it had been scratched, or ulcerated? The thing that had been trying to surface yesterday had sounded like….

A cold fear she could not fathom gripped her heart, and she turned away. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the horse lunge and she began to run. She sprinted up the road and didn’t dare to look back. She couldn’t hear any hoof beats following her, she couldn’t hear anything at all, yet she would not look back.

She didn’t stop in her mad dash until she nearly collapsed at the door step of the café. She panted, and swallowed a sob. Why did she feel as if she had just met her death? She groaned and shivered. Was she going mad? She had seen nothing! Heard nothing! Had she really been that frightened of a horse? What was wrong with her!

Yet the horrid feeling remained.

"Eddie? Eddie!" She grimaced at the concern in Sarah's voice. Her friend had no doubt seen her inexplicable paroxysm through the cafe window. She shivered and wiped her nose and eyes as Sarah's blue eyes went wide with concern.

"Hey Sarah. I went for a dunk in the lake yesterday. Matthew fell in and I had to pull him out, I think I'm still a little upset by it. You know I just die if anything happened to him," Eddie babbled, and it was only half a lie. Perhaps that was the true nature of the cold feeling clawing at her innards.

"It's okay Eddie, don't cry over it. There’s no reason to be upset if he's all right.” The red haired girl soothed, gently pulling on Eddie to get her inside. "You showed up ten minutes early, come in and have a drink before you clock in."

"Yeah, we were completely soaked. Chilled to the bone," She laughed a little and Sarah smiled as she opened the door.

"Oh, but you did get lucky then." Sarah said as Eddie sat down at the bar after peeling off her sweater and hat. She raised an eyebrow at Sarah’s words. “People disappear around there a lot I hear.”

"From drowning?" Eddie asked as she watched Sarah's small and animated hands fly over the back counter. Her friend was a cute girl, but Eddie felt like her small and graceful hands that were deceptively strong were her most appealing feature. Others however would cite her heavy breasts that also bounced above the counters.

"No, they just, go missing," Sarah shrugged helplessly as she set down a coffee before her friend. “Sort of an urban legend I suppose, or maybe a rural one out here, but, well, I heard it’s aliens or some sort of monster hangs out around that area and just scoops people up, y’know? No one really sees anything. My mother said her friend went up there when she was a kid and no one ever saw her ever again. That’s why yours truly is not allowed to go over that bridge.”

“What about a black horse?’ Eddie asked before she could stop herself.

“Nope, never heard that one.” Sarah blinked. “Why?”

“No reason,” Eddie sighed and decided to change the subject. “Are we still on for Merryland this weekend?

“Oh yes!” Sarah excitedly clapped her hands and her curls followed the bouncing of her head, augmenting her delight. They fell into planning the last details of their outing and Eddie forgot the encounter at the lake. The coffee invigorated her however and by the beginning of her shift she was laughing with Sarah as usual and graciously assisting her usual round of morning customers. The noxious feeling was forgotten in the tide of gossip, chatter, and jokes that swelled in her workplace during a rush.

The morning was not done with its surprises yet however.

After Eddie had returned from the kitchen with an order she was informed by her other co-worker Stan that she had been asked for. Three people sitting in a booth were pointed out to her. Eddie paused as she looked the trio over. It was a white man who was probably only a little bit older than herself, an older black woman wearing a blue hijab, and a young Arab man with a baseball cap pulled low over his head. They were certainly no one Eddie had ever seen before and that made her feel slightly anxious. She approached them however with a small smile as she would any other customers.

“Yes?” she asked.

“You are the girl who fell into Lake Santos yesterday, Eddie Moreno?” The woman asked pointedly and Eddie felt her confusion grow. How could they have possibly known about that when only Matt, Sarah, and she knew?

“Yes.” She confirmed, albeit with some apprehension.

“We would like to speak to you,” the white man told her, peering at her through oversized sunglasses. Eddie frowned wondering if the man was not suffering from a hang-over as the shades of the window before the booth had been pulled down.

“Is this something important?” Eddie asked and was assured this was so by the woman and the white man. The other man kept his eyes down towards the table as if afraid to look up at her. Eddie exhaled, well could things get anymore strange?

“Well my lunch break is in an hour, we can talk then.” She informed them and raised her writing pad. “So you better order something or Ms. Takahashi will kick you out.”

Because she may as well get something out of these unlikely events.

To her surprise the strangers waited the hour for her break. As she tried to not stare at them she tried to come up with some idea why they were here. The only thing she could think of was her father, a man she had little contact with and had no true idea what was going on in his life. But what would that have to do with the lake? She was mystified and asked Sarah to watch the group for her to see if they were in turn watching her.

“Nope and nope. All the woman and the red head do is talk quietly and the other guy just stares at his food,” Sarah reported forty-five minutes later. ”You really want to talk to these people?”

“I feel like I have to,” Eddie confessed.

“Why?” Sarah asked and Eddie could only helplessly wave her hand, uncertain herself if it was because she was too kind to turn down even a madman’s request or if she herself was the madman.

The hour came and after making it clear they were to remain in this public place to have their chat, and though this was met with some dislike by the woman, Eddie took her place alongside the red headed man. The other man finally looked up at her and she was taken aback by the amber hue of his eyes. They almost seemed to shine even in the subdued light leaking in from the closed shades. She looked away with a thought that was why he had kept his gaze downward but why should he try to hide them? Hazel was a natural human eye color and perhaps they only looked so bright against his skin tone. She was seeing shadows where there were none once again.

“Let’s start with an introduction, shall we?” the woman said crisply. She indicated herself, “I am Hala Nejem, and this is my assistant Yusuf.”

She pointed at the amber eyed man and he nodded at Eddie. Nejem pointed at the man besides Eddie, “and this is Ulysses MacGregor, he is a friend of mine and someone who has a vested interested in all of this.”

“All of what?” Eddie began to ask but Nejem held up a hand for silence.

“I am a wise woman. I am someone who can see spirits and intercede with them on humanity’s behalf.”

Eddie’s shoulders slumped, had she just been tricked into a business pitch for a tarot reading? Nejem frowned at her doubtful look. ”So you don’t have Sight then.”

“Have what?” Eddie asked.

“That ability to see spirits.” Nejem put her elbows on the table and folded her hands in a gesture of meditation. “This makes things more difficult.”

“Listen if you’re saying you want to read my palm or look into a crystal ball to see the future I’m really not interested,” Eddie began to stand up.

“I am not some side-show charlatan!” Nejem snapped and at the true offense in her voice Eddie paused. The woman narrowed her eyes at her. “And the only future I am concerned about is yours if that kelpie continues to hunt you.”

“What?” Eddie cried. Her eyes met with Sarah’s from across the room. The young woman remained behind the counter as she was manning the cash register but Eddie knew if she needed help her friend would give it.

“Hala. This isn’t the way to go about this, you’re only confusing her.” MacGregor spoke and made a gesture for Eddie to sit back down. “Maybe we should start from the beginning.”

“How far back would you like to go?” Nejem deadpanned and MacGregor paused. He seemed to shrug as Eddie slowly sat back down.

“Okay. Lass. Y’see, faeries and the like are real.” He began tenuously and grimaced at Eddie’s incredulous scowl. “Just let me finish! You are like me, you can’t see those sorts of things unless it’s wearing what is called a glamour. A disguise to say, that conceals the true form. Now what lives in Lake Santos is what’s called a kelpie and he can appear in two ways, as a young man with water weeds in his hair, or as a black horse.”

“Black horse.” Eddie repeated in a daze and Nejem crowed.

“She _has_ seen him.”

That declaration shook Eddie out of her frightened reverie. “No! I just saw a horse! It was probably my neighbor’s!”

She shook her head. “And that’s supposed to be a kind of faerie? Aren’t faeries, y’know,..”

She made a small flying motion with both of her hands, “usually little people with wings?”

“They can be, but fae have many forms, as do other spirits,” Nejem informed her. Eddie stared at her for a few seconds and then found herself laughing at the absurdity of all of this.

“You are _shitting_ me!” She giggled. “This is some kind of a joke-!”

Nejem and MacGregor glanced at each other at in an apparent and horrified loss of words, and Yusuf spoke up for the first time. His voice was gentle and his English was spoken as a second language, accented with traces of a language Eddie couldn’t identify, unlike MacGregor’s Scottish or even Nejem’s strange mixture of British and maybe French.

“Child, it is no joke. That waterhorse intends to kill you. Would you not listen to save your own life?” he softly pleaded.

“Kill me, why?” Eddie cried.

“Because you broke the seal on the lake.” MacGregor sighed into his fourth cup of coffee. “It’s damaged now and he would kill you for spite.”  
“Seal? I broke nothing that day,” she argued. “All I did was--!”

 _I saved Matt_. She felt that same horrid feeling from earlier come over her, like her soul was being torn.

“You also stabbed him in the eye.” MacGregor sighed.  
“What?!” Eddie’s body jerked in horror. He grimly nodded at her.

“Lucky for you both fae can usually heal up rapidly but he’ll have a cloudy right eye for a while.”

“Oh no, no! I would never, I would never hurt anyone!” Even as she gasped however she remembered how sickeningly easy it had been to draw the blade back because it had hit something soft. She clasped her hands to her cheeks as a nausea swept through her.

“Don’t feel bad, you only protected your life.” MacGregor soothed her. “It’s probably why you’re both still alive.”

Eddie was not comforted however, her fists and jaw remained clenched. As she winced Nejem finished.

“You leapt into the lake and were able to escape. Some have found themselves in that water over the years, but none of the rest of them were able to break past the barrier to escape.”

Eddie raised her hands to her mouth recalling that ardent urge to save her brother’s life. _Is that how…?_ No, no, no what was she thinking?! Getting this caught up in a tale that couldn’t be true?! These people were just fucking with her! They had probably seen what had happened and were getting off on tormenting a young girl. There were plenty of sadists in this world.

“I think I’ve had enough.” Eddie began to stand up.

“She doesn’t believe us,” Yusuf groaned and the sincere alarm in his voice gave her pause.

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow.” Nejem sighed and removed something from her purse. She offered Eddie what looked like a necklace with a small blade tied onto it.

“That’s iron, draw an X with it onto any surface and the kelpie won’t be able to pass it,” Nejem informed her. “You may not believe us, but carry it with you, it may save your life.”

“My phone number,” MacGregor handed a piece of paper to her. She took both, if only out of politeness. She would throw them both away the second they left.

“Also, have you spoken to Regan Seele yet?” MacGregor asked.

 _Kelly’s brother?_ What did he have to do with this?

“No?” and MacGregor looked relieved at her answer.

“Well then lass, give me a jingle if you need anything.” He beamed and Eddie nodded at him in wary confusion. She sat at the counter to finish out the rest of her lunch and avoided their gazes as they left.

“What in the hell was that all about?” Sarah asked after they had left and were a few feet out the door. Eddie felt the charm and piece of paper in her pocket. Despite hating herself for believing any of that nonsense, she didn’t throw them away.

“No idea really. Something about the lake being haunted and not going there.” Eddie shrugged. She sighed and ran her hands through her hair. “Another day, another eccentric.”

“Especially around here,” Sarah snorted. Orangeblossom, like most small towns in the area, had a high rate of drug users. And said population was always happy to indulge a bystander in their chemical induced fantasies. Eddie nodded and decided to not go into further detail, as bewildered as she had been by the entire encounter. She could have easily believed if sadism was not in play then simple insanity was, yet that gnawing feeling remained and stayed her hand from disposing of the relics of the conversation.

 

 

With the feeling of foreboding devouring her innards Eddie left her work in the early evening. She recalled again and again how it had been her desire to save Matthew’s life that had been the catalyst for escaping the lake. The thought of his life in danger scared her deeply, perhaps the only thing that frightened her more than the thought of growing distant from him.

She sighed as she imagined life with her new in-laws. Eddie had inadvertently brought Matthew and Kelly together by attempting to have a drunken fist fight with the woman’s stepfather about a year before at a church charity function. As Matthew had held her back he had apologized vehemently to Kelly and her older brother. The brother had left in a sort of disgust but Kelly had lingered on, listening to Eddie’s feeble cries of regret.

Kelly was forgiving, her older brother and heir of the family was indifferent. Michael Seele’s second wife and his stepdaughter were resentful. Mainly because Eddie had been far too frightened of the widow to apologize to her and when her husband had died suddenly she had become terrified of the prospect.

But with the pending marriage, for what woman would refuse her brother, Eddie knew she was going to have to confront her intractable and cowardly behavior. She knew the reason why she had let the situation fester was only childish pettiness. She had not wanted to hear a rebuke from someone who didn’t love her.

She wouldn’t shadow Matthew’s moment in the sun with her immaturity however. She would eat her crow and smile. She would just have to think of the proper way to do so. In rehab they had recommended letters as being acceptable devices of apology. Eddie wondered if typing such a letter would be rude, but her handwriting was mediocre.

Lost in such consuming thoughts of self-pity Eddie was incognizant of the path shifting from dirt to worn adobe. She lifted a hand to steady herself against the side of the bridge, and this caused her head to finally rise. Had she come down here purposely? Or had she been so distracted she had come down the path entirely on routine?

The horse was waiting for her. He stood as he had before, with his head up, ears pricked forward, clearly watching her. His coat was drenched, his mane and tail were tangled with waterweeds. Had the specter had all these traits before or were the words from the man in the café now guiding her mind?

His right eye was opaque. A dark cloud upon an obsidian surface. She swallowed, _Because I…._ she shook her head so hard her neck hurt. No! She would never hurt anyone or anything! Those people had been playing with her! The horse could have easily scratched his eye on a branch or even a piece of hay! It happened all the time!

 _Maybe I need to schedule another appointment with Dr. Jong._ She thought of her psychiatrist, very far away in her office in Fullerton. Perhaps she give Eddie some anti-psychotics or tell her she just needed more sleep. She inhaled and took a step forward.

She just wanted to see if the horse was real or not. Before she had been too frightened to touch him. Now however she felt she had to see if he was a manifestation of her sublimated stress. If there would be flesh or bone beneath her hand or smoke and mirrors. The horse bowed his head, softly snorting as she walked up to him. She slowly lowered her shaking hand down. His flesh was cool and sleek, but alive. Eddie gave a shaky laugh. So she was not insane! This horse was real!

“Hey, hey boy, where did you come from? Oh you’re so lovely.” She whispered in delight that this enchanting creature was so friendly. She moved her hand to rub her palm between his eyes and chuckled as the horse sank his head lower, offering his shapely ears to be rubbed too.

What had she been so afraid of? This was nothing but an ordinary horse. He must have somehow gotten out of someone’s pasture. She stepped back, and saw no shred of restraint upon him, no tack, not even a halter.

“I have no way to get you home boy.” She frowned. She would not like to leave him alone. He surely belonged to _someone_. As she pondered this quandary the horse suddenly bowed down to his knees. Eddie stepped back in surprise as she had never see a horse make such a gesture.

“You, you want me to ride you?” She hesitated, but perhaps the horse had been trained for such riding. She had certainly heard of such a thing at least. She raised her hands to grasp the wet mane when she was suddenly pulled back.

“Stop! He’ll kill you!” A voice roared into her ear. Eddie was lifted off the ground and set onto the back of a white horse. She looked up at the rider. He was a young man with thick black hair and large brown eyes. He was no one she knew. Eddie was seated precariously on the horse’s withers between the rider and the horse’s neck. She grasped the horse’s mane to give her balance in order to elbow the young man in the chest.

“What in the _hell_ do you think you are doing?!” Eddie demanded. “Let me go!”

“Stop! You’re going to make us both fall off!” He cried as Eddie struggled to get out from between the reigns.

“Exactly!” Eddie snapped as the horse reared back in confusion at the jarring pull on the reigns. Eddie fell off, half from effort and half from loss of balance. She landed on her back, the wind knocked out of her. She quickly rolled away from the startled horse as the young man struggled to regain control of his mount. Eddie found her back against the legs of the black horse. To her absolute surprise the horse seemed to be watching the other horse and rider instead of becoming excited by the display.

Feeling her against him he nickered again, lowering his head to her. She raised her hand to stroke his muzzle again, a little loss as to what to do next.

“No, get away from him! You don’t understand-!” The young man cried when he had wheeled his horse around.

“Stay away!” Eddie warned as she stood up. She now had an idea to ride the black horse away from her attacker.

“He’ll kill you! He means to drown you in the lake!” The rider argued.

Eddie turned away and grabbed two fistfuls of mane, the horse bowed again to allow her to easily mount him.

“No!” the rider cried and suddenly tossed something. It looked like a small, double sided blade. It spun through the air and lanced across the horse’s neck. The horse screamed and reared. His mane fell back to reveal a slender but long gash from the blade. Eddie fell back and in horror looked up to see the creature’s mouth was lined with hideous fangs.

 _That is_ not _a horse!_ She realized and scrambled backwards. The beast slammed down his hooves and turned his gaping maw on her. The scream, just like the one from the day this monster had almost killed Matthew, echoed down to her bones through her quaking flesh. It crystallized in her blood and carried frigid horror to every nerve ending. She didn’t doubt in that moment this faerie wanted to kill her.

 _Oh god, oh god why aren’t you a little naked woman!_ She screamed in her mind at the impossible sight before her.

The young man grabbed her again and this time she took the seat behind his back. With her arms around his waist they fled across the plain from the monster. Eddie couldn’t see the kelpie but she could hear him following them. The ground rumbled and small bushes were torn apart, young trees were snapped in two. The faerie could hide himself but not the destruction he caused.

“Wait! I have a charm! If I draw an X into the ground he won’t be able to cross it!” She cried into the rider’s ear. He glanced over his shoulder at her.

“I will distract him while you carve the ‘X’.” he informed her. Eddie held tightly onto him until they came to a small wash that was half full due to a recent rainfall. He let Eddie down on the other side of the wash and made a wide arc to lure the kelpie into the slowly flowing water. That way the faerie’s movement could be detected even if he was invisible.

Eddie dropped down to the dirt as she heard the clamorous splash of water that indicated their pursuer had caught up with them. She began carving a line of X’s across the ground with the charm. She tried to not look up, to not become distracted by how she was certain that young man had no weapon to defend himself with save his mount’s speed. Yet there was a cry, and she raised her head to see her defender apparently kick out from atop his horse’s back and connect with something solid. .

“I have carved the X!” She screamed. Her attempt to save the young man worked, the kelpie apparently turned from him and by the furious wake of water was coming for her instead. She stood still, waiting for him to come. She knotted her fists as the cool water washed over her, and death never came. .

The young man circled back around. He urged his mount to leap over the line of carvings so as to not disturb the barrier. He gathered Eddie up again to sit in front of him as they left the kelpie in the wash. .

“Good! That is so good!” The young man laugh and Eddie couldn’t help but to join in his rejoicing with her own small chuckle. They galloped a few more hundred feet in their dizzy victory. He eventually slowed his horse but neither one of them stopped smiling. .

“Hey, where do you live? I’ll take you home.” He said to her. .

“Oh, ah,” Eddie glanced around to get her bearings. They were skimming along the foothills of the mountains, in the open country that lined the eastern side of the basin. She gave him the directions and he turned west towards the Double M Ranch. .

“I am Jai Darzi,” The prince introduced himself. He beamed at her and Eddie felt her cheeks warm, just now becoming aware of how handsome he really was with his thick, wavy locks and warm brown eyes. His chest filled out his long sleeved white shirt nicely and his satin vest made him look very smart. He looked like he didn’t belong in Orangeblossom, or anywhere on the fragile earth. He looked like a fairytale prince in his gentle splendor. She was glad he was not a cowboy as his English saddle gave her a comfortable place to sit. Though she awkwardly didn’t know quite where to put her hands after she had released him from the hold she had kept on him during the gallop. .

“And this is Isolde.” He informed her. Eddie looked down and realized the horse was a stout warmblood. Jai was very strong indeed if he had been able to lift her up a sixteen hand horse. .

“I was sent to protect you, Eddie.” He told her. She looked up at him in surprise, but perhaps she shouldn’t have been. It seemed like every stranger she met now already knew her name.

“By who?”

“My master.”

“Master?” Eddie frowned.

“It’s a…complex relationship.” Jai gave his easy smile again. “He is Regan Seele.”

“Regan Seele?” Eddie repeated. Hadn’t the Scot asked her if she had spoken to him? “What does he have to do with all of this?”

“He would like to protect your life.” Jai bowed his head. “If you would speak to him he could give you probably all the answers you need.”

Eddie digested the information. Regan Seele was a rather unapproachable figure. He owned nearly all of the property in Los Olivos, the inheritance from the late Michael Seele, his father. The only time he had ever appeared in Orangeblossom was at that charity event, and likely at the urging of his sister who worked in the community. He had looked at Eddie like she was an annoying insect, she couldn’t imagine that man wishing to save her life.

Yet there was apparently a lot going on here she didn’t understand.

“Okay.” She agreed.

“Great.” Jai grinned and Eddie felt her cheeks warm. They stopped too soon and Jai let her down at the front gate of the ranch. Her legs felt numb but after a few staggering steps she regained her feeling. She lingered by Jai’s stirrup however.

“Ah, would you like to come in or dinner? You could rest Isolde in the barn.” She offered. He sadly shook his head and reached into his pocket.

“I’m afraid I cannot. I am already engaged for the evening.” He handed her a card and it was Regan’s business one, with a cell phone number and a title as CEO of Seele Enterprises. “But when you speak with Regan I’ll see you again, I promise.”

He reached down and touched his fingers to her cheek. “And who gave you that charm, by the way?”

“An old woman. She said her name was Hala Nejem.” Eddie breathed.

“Ah, well, I am glad she gave it to you. Use it and know you are protected.” Eddie nodded and he drew his hand away. It was only as he rode off into the sunset that Eddie put away the card in her hand. She went into the front house and told no one of her encounter with a beast and a prince. The piece of paper with MacGregor’s number, the card, and the charm laid heavily in her pants pocket. The only proofs she had that today had not been a complex fantasy.

And that she had found herself in the middle of something terrible and engulfing.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie visits the magical trio for further advice. We learn she has a faeries godmother in the form of _another_ carnivorous horse-fae and the correct pronunciation of "Naoise". Eddie later receives a mysterious visitor at her cafe. The Prince and the Kelpie dick-wave at each other.

To Eddie's absolute surprise, life went on despite her epiphany that faeries existed, some people could see them all the time, and one was actively trying to murder her. She wore the same clothes, performed the same chores, sat on the same seat on the bus, and followed her school schedule as dutifully as ever. On the surface, nothing had changed at all with the forced acknowledgement of the supernatural. It was the same sun, moon, and dirt beneath her feet even if she shared it with spirits and kelpies.

Inside however she flinched and repelled from the world that over laid her own. The iron blade given to her by the old woman was always near, either in a pocket or between her breasts as it hung from her neck. The two phone numbers were crushed in her pocket and she fretted over who to call. She wanted to speak to Jai Darzi as she had forgotten to even thank him in her daze the day before but he had not given her a direct line. She had her choice between the weirdoes from the café or the very distant Regan Seele.

In the end she chose based on who intimidated her more.

She had waited a day in order to glean what information she could for herself. She was going into this wholly ignorant and apparently so long as she stayed far away from Lake Santos, the kelpie didn’t come near. Or those iron carvings she had scratched into surfaces all around the ranch worked. Either way, she had a day of peace and took advantage of her college’s library and internet.

The results however were disappointing. The web pages spoke of monsters but of no spell or charm to totally protect against them. She looked into the local records and found eighty drowning deaths at Lake Santos between the years of 1982 and 2012. And those figures didn’t account for simple disappearances in the area. This was after the year 1981 with the catastrophic death toll of fifty in one year. That Scot had mentioned a seal, did that account for the decrease in deaths? Eddie tried to find corresponding stories in the same year as the unprecedented death toll but all she found was something about Lake Santos being drained and Via Verde being re-routed to benefit other communities in the west. Did that have anything to do with all the deaths?

Putting Regan into a search engine only brought up his Facebook page, and his professional one at that, and his company’s rather vague webpage.

Eddie sighed, all her search did was make her very aware of how little she knew, and could hope to know without help. In the end she went out into the courtyard before the library and pulled out her cellphone. With shaking hands she contacted Ulysses MacGregor. She would be able to meet him after her classes.

 

 

Mr. MacGregor had apparently taken up residence at an old property within Orangeblossom that was still owned by his family. Not too strange if that property hadn’t been purchased from the Catholic Church when the congregation had moved to the current St. Francisco de Assisi. Eddie thought for sure the old boarded up building couldn’t possibly still have working electricity and water and she felt like she must be right when she saw the dusty and dilapidated inside.

“You know we have a motel here,” she dryly told her host when he had carefully opened the side door, the only one he had apparently been able to free of its boards.

“Yes, but motels are generally not considered sanctuaries,” Hala Nejem responded from down near the tabernacle, the woman Eddie wasn’t sure if she was MacGregor’s business partner, wife, lover, or what. She was still accompanied by Yusuf, whom Eddie was even less sure about. He was comfortable with looking directly at her now, his eyes as bright as a raging inferno. Today he was not dressed in American clothing but a lightly colored djebella, which he seemed to be more comfortable in.

“Any sort of scared place, most spirits think twice about entering, they don’t like that feel of human energy,” MacGregor elaborated and Eddie nodded like she knew what he was talking about.

“So that….kelpie can’t get in here?” She asked as she sank down onto a cracked and worn pew.

“Well he can’t because of the ward Hala set up, but he wouldn’t have liked to, and fae can’t enter homes unless invited by the home owner.” MacGregor explained as he made coffee atop a battery operated electric stove top. The altar seemed to have become the denizens’ make-shift kitchen with a few boxes of foods and dishes settled by the foot of it. A place where the body and blood of Christ had been consecrated was now being used to make watered down coffee and ramen noodles. It was perhaps the fate of many abandoned altars.

“So who are you three anyway? I know your names and you told me she is a wise woman, but….what does that mean exactly? Why are you here?” Eddie asked.

“A wise woman, or man, is expected to protect normal humans from spirits,” Nejem started as she began to walk towards Eddie. “We are bridges between their world and ours, those of us who have Sight. For you see those of us that have Sight have spirit blood in our veins.”

She laid a hand on her chest. “One of my ancestors mated with one of the jinn, one of Yusuf’s race.”

“Yusuf is not….” He only smiled when Eddie glanced at him in surprise.

“He is my servant, or to be more exact, he is repaying a debt he owes me.” Nejem continued and Eddie looked into her sloe eyes. How much had this woman seen, and could see? “And all wise persons make such alliances with sprints.”

“So you’re here to help me?” Eddie offered and Nejem nodded.

“And Mr. MacGregor is your….?” Eddie prompted.

“Though I don’t have Sight myself, many of my relatives have had the trait.” He explained as he poured the coffee into cups. “One of my great-great grandmothers had an affair with a sidhe and bore him two children, ever since then we’ve all been tied in with fae and other spirits.”

“So you’re her partner?” Eddie pressed. She was beginning to be mildly frustrated with what seemed like question dodging.

“La! He is an old friend who shows up every few years to spend a few weeks on my couch,” Nejem sniffed and Eddie was now truly confused.

“He has his own stake in this,” Yusuf interjected quietly as he took a cup from MacGregor. He held it but didn’t drink it. MacGregor glowered for a second at the jinn but at last answered directly.

“It’s….my fault that kelpie is in Lake Santos.” He confessed with a great sigh.

“Well, there are two of them.” Nejem corrected.

“Aye, it is my fault there are two waterhorses in the Santos Basin but Dougal at least doesn’t raise hell every chance he gets,” MacGregor said peevishly. ”It’s that bloody Naoise who makes the trouble!”

Nejem looked like she wanted to say something but apparently thought better of it. She instead rolled her hand in a gesture prompting MacGregor to stay on topic.

“Naoise is the one huntin’ you lass,” MacGregor continued. “Dougal lives in Via Verde but he does no harm. Naoise is the one who lives in Lake Santos.”

 _Nee-shaw? What a funny name._ She had never heard it before in her life. Though she was a girl with a male nickname because her brother had thought it a cute way to somewhat normalize “Edith”.

“How did they get here? Did you move them from England or something?” Eddie asked. That was something else that confused her, the kelpie was apparently a non-native species.

“Scotland. But, more or less.” MacGregor shrugged helplessly. “Most of the spirits here are imported.”

Eddie decided to ignore the possibility of an entire countryside teeming with spirits for the more pressing issue at hand. She set her coffee down, it tasted of ash, from the poor brewing, or from her anxiety.

“You said something about a seal, is that what he’s so angry about?”

“Aye. Well, he’s angry you damaged it by escaping. And the eye thing.” MacGregor sat down with a heavy sigh. “My…niece put that seal there to protect everyone who would come near that lake. Haven’t you ever noticed lass how no one comes near that lake?”

“Well most people think it’s haunted.” She informed him with a frown and MacGregor shook his head.

“Nay. If you would notice the Via Verde which has no such spell upon it and is inhabited by a friendly spirit, how people fish, boat, and swim upon it. No one thinks twice about goin’ for a skiddle in those waters, but with Lake Santos most stay far away from even the shore.” MacGregor looked directly at her.

“After all lass, was not diving in after your brother the _only_ time you’ve been in that water?”

Eddie opened her mouth when she realized this was true. As she thought more about it she realized she had assumed that the lake was marked off-limits by the fish and game service, but she knew there were no such signs anywhere by that water. In fact there was no reason at all really people should not be able to visit those waters. Yet they stayed far away and never thought twice about it.

MacGregor took in her silence and with a small sigh he continued.

“Well, as I said, it can’t be repaired now. So, the only way he can protect his lake, to him, is to get rid of the person who has the ability to damage the seal.”

“By killing me,” Eddie readily provided, for the latter implied her brother, and she would die first than let that happen.

“Nay, Dougal talked him out of it.”

“Who?” Eddie frowned.

“His brother, the other kelpie. He’s a wee bit friendlier towards man, so he made a plea for your life.” MacGregor explained.

“He is the one who informed us of the problem in the first place.” Nejem added.

Eddie relished the feeling of relief in her chest, as if her heart could beat again. “So he’s going to leave me alone now?”

“Not….quite.” MacGregor’s mouth downturned. “He cannot relinquish his role of guardian, it goes against his nature. You must be punished, warded away from his lake. So he…wants to kidnap you instead.”

Eddie stared at the pair for a long time, struggling to speak. “Where, what, what would he do with me?”

“Take you to Faerie, the land of spirits, as his bride. For humans must belong to the spirit in some way and be family. Children and spouses however can be traded or sold.” Nejem explained with a sorrowful turn of her wrist.

“I don’t think so-!” Eddie sputtered in outrage.

“Quite, and it’s easy enough to resist. Just don’t ever accept a ring from him.” Nejem replied. “For that ring be the marriage ring and imply your consent.”

“Done!” Eddie slammed her hands together. She took a step back and put her hands to her temples as the massive weight of the situation settled on her. “And he’ll have to give up eventually right?”

MacGregor and Nejem glanced at each other.

“Well, Regan sent his prince to look after her anyway.” He mused.

“Jai Darzi?” Eddie asked.

“Aye, him.” The man nodded. “Keep him close, as a buffer. But keep your distance from Regan.”

“That again? Why?” She frowned.

“Because Regan….is my great-nephew. And my niece Lorna was his mother. He has a grudge against Naoise and wouldn’t play fair.”

“Wait, Regan is your _great_ -nephew?” Eddie’s brow furrowed. MacGregor look only a few years older than her twenty. She looked closely at his blue eyes but found no traces of wrinkles, or even lines. Regan was at least thirty. “You mean he’s your step-relative or….”

MacGregor closed his eyes, apparently struggling with the answer.

“Nay, we are of full blood. Fae gifts….can do many things.” Eddie put a hand over her mouth and he smiled wryly. “Call me ‘Ewan’ from now on lassie, and I am Regan’s younger cousin. I’m sure you can understand why.”

Eddie slowly nodded and decided to not press the matter further. This sounded like a family affair, and one she had no interest in. Besides Eddie was sensitive to prying at the closet door. She knew if she exposed someone else’s skeletons, her bones may also be laid bare. She let the subject go, she had already been told enough to be able to survive.

But she would make no promises about approaching Regan Seele.  
“So Jai Darzi, he’s really a prince?” she asked. He spoke perfect American English and she thought India had a democracy now anyway.

“In the sense it is his duty to protect the weak and battle monsters,” MacGregor smiled wistfully. “Anyone could be one I suppose, but in his case he has a little magic to help him along.”

“He told me Regan is his master. Is that magic from Regan then?” Eddie wondered. MacGregor looked apprehensive at the question.

“Perhaps,” was all he said and Eddie began to feel annoyed again at the distinct impression he was avoiding sharing things with her. Fine if he didn’t want to hang the skeletons out to dry but why speak about his nephew as little as possible? Especially when he obviously wanted her to stay away from him? Don’t tell her why he had apparently not aged in the last few decades, fine, that was personal. Don’t tell her why his great-nephew may want to protect her when she was being hunted by a kelpie, well, that was a little _rude_.

She knew the hallmarks of guilt well, they had been etched into her psyche, and she knew it made you hide what you should not.

“Well then, don’t let him give me a ring. Keep the prince close,” the latter would be delightful to do, surely. “Did you say he can appear as human too?”

“As a young man, soaking, with hair tangled with water weeds,” Nejem informed her and Eddie nodded.

“Will avoid.” Eddie stood up and stretched, the battle was not over but for the first time she felt like she could win.

“And come back anytime lass, if you need help. We’ll be here.” MacGregor reassured her. Eddie smiled and tried to not let the doubt of how much help she would find here on her face. She nodded and walked out with her head held high into the twilight. She kept the charm near and hope in her heart.

“You didn’t tell her about the golden bridle,” Hala reproached once the girl was gone.

“Nay,” MacGregor sighed.

“Because then you have to explain _why_ Regan has it and how the kelpies got here?” He didn’t answer and Hala stood up in a huff. MacGregor ignored her furious steps towards the stained glass of St. Anne. The jinn disappeared, probably to hide in the rafters to avoid his mistress’ temper.

“You know he’ll offer it to her!” Hala snapped.

“He will.” He had already said as much when Ulysses had gone to see him. Regan would happily let the cycle of agony begin again if it turned away from him this time. He had all the viciousness of the MacGregor clan within him.

“Ulysses. Tell me you have a plan or I am going to speak to that girl myself.” The wise woman warned sternly.

He sat back and didn’t look at his old friend, the one constant in his life. And Hala no doubt saw him as one of her spirits, something that simply must be dealt with in order to do her duty.

“A stalemate will never hold, something must give.” He stood up and looked at the barren place where the crucifix had once hung over the sanctuary. The day was being lost and all that crowded the hall were shadows. It was dim, but he knew where it had been. “You know as well as I do Naoise must have that vengeance. And Dougal’s way is the only one that spares her life. If he is thwarted….nothing stops him from the more expedient murder.”

“So what choice do we have then, but to sabotage the prince?” Hala sighed and MacGregor was uncertain if she was resigned or bitter. There was a hiss and candlelight lanced across the dark sanctuary. Hala held the candle up to look into his eyes as she walked over.

“Aye.” He looked at her with the eyes of someone who hated himself. He had set that lass up for failure. But with life, there was still hope. Death promised nothing.

“Dougal, after all, still has Lily’s ring.”

 

 

Eddie was surprised when Sarah skipped into the shop late in the afternoon as she hadn't been scheduled to work. There was a bright look in her eyes however, and Eddie knew it could only be good news on her lips. So she relaxed. She had managed to go home the night before and to work today without an attempt on her life, perhaps everything was finally coming up roses. Of course she had also left early so she could catch a ride with her older brother and eaten breakfast in the auto shop. If Matthew had suspected a sudden bout of insecurity he had said nothing about it.

"Eddie!" the girl squealed her friend's name and leapt over the counter to hang on her neck. Eddie laughed and gently pushed her away though she let Sarah’s hands linger on her shoulders. Stan, the other cashier, raised an eyebrow but Eddie knew she could trust him to not go tattle to Ms. Takahashi.

"I got my acceptance letter!" the younger woman happily shoved a piece of paper into Eddie's face. She smiled when she recognized the seal of Pommemont Tech College.

"Oh wow, that's a really good school isn't it?" Eddie asked as she glanced over the standard letter of admission.

"I was so worried I couldn’t because I took a year off, but I got in any way! I get to start next Fall semester." the younger woman was practically bouncing from joy and Eddie couldn't help but to grin at her fervor.

"But I better order something before Takahashi complains right?" Sarah mused. Though she was in too far of a good mood to even frown at the thought of her employer being cross at her.

"What do you care now? You're gonna be a famous scientist right? She’ll be grateful when you find a way to make her coffee taste good," Eddie said with a wink. Inwardly she cringed however at her selfish thought of; _so you’re leaving too_. Was she such a terrible person to not only take pride in her friend's accomplishment?

"I already know how, she should stop using mud to make it," Sarah deadpanned and grinned at Eddie's smirk. After another little wriggle from happiness she placed her order.

"Oh, but Miss Doctor graduated from there too for her undergrad," Sarah informed Eddie in another whisper as her friend rung her up. Eddie raised an eyebrow at the remark.

"Is that so?" She didn't mention the only upper schooling Matthew had had was the vocational training for auto work. He had gotten good grades through-out high school but had never truly enjoyed academics. He was skilled and dedicated at his work, but obviously a mechanic, especially one with only a few years of experience, would not earn as much as a doctor, even one still establishing a name for herself.

"Yeah, I saw the diploma at the office. Maybe I'll set up my lab here and give her some competition. Matt likes smart women doesn't he?" Sarah winked as she handed her money over. Eddie couldn't help but to laugh.

“You like Matt that much?”

“Oh a man with dark hair and blue eyes, I’m in heaven!” Sarah sighed. _I wish you were a little older Sarah, or he may have taken notice of you_. Eddie’s mouth twitched, so she could have them both near her instead of an intimidating stranger with an older brother who was apparently some sort of magician.

"You're a terror. Surely, you can do better than be my brother's consolation prize."

"But if I marry him we'll be family, and I'll have you both," Sarah whispered huskily as she pulled on Eddie's shirt to bring their noses together, Eddie blushed but grinned.

"Sit! Sit!" Eddie ordered as she snickered and waved her hand.

Sarah did as she was told, sitting in her usual place in the corner. Eddie turned around to fill her order. Her hands moved almost automatically to brew the latte with extra whip and slice a raspberry tart in half and toast it. Sarah always ordered the same thing, bless her diabolical little heart. She heard the doorbell jingle as the door swung open but as Stan was also behind the counter she let him attend to the order. She flinched however at the cold voice that followed Stan's standard greeting.

"I don't want _you_ to serve me." Eddie bristled at how rude that was. Of course Stan hardly sounded convincing, but condescension was hardly needed. She glanced over her shoulder and saw dark and wavy hair that appeared to be drenched. Her eyes narrowed and she turned fully around.

A tall man was glowering down at Stan who looked to be at a loss as to what to reply to the stranger’s statement with. The man looked away from Stan and fixed Eddie with a stare from one impossibly dark left eye, and a clouded right one. He seemed to be of some ancient race with dark skin and a blue tunic that belonged to no modern people. This man, creature, beast, it seemed like it all could be enclosed within that virulent flesh, could drown you with a look. The girl swallowed and clenched her fists as she began to kick back towards the surface, her breath straining.

"She will serve me." The man announced, and Eddie stiffened. Stan looked a little offended, and she wished he had the backbone to tell the customer what he really thought of his request. No not request, _order_. A smile slid like an eel over the man's shapely lips as she stepped forward and Eddie's fists clenched. She felt anger at his haughty demeanor, the smirk that curled around the corners of his mouth, and the derision in his remarkable eyes.

"I hardly see what difference this makes sir, my co-worker is just as capable as I," Eddie kept her voice coldly polite and wished her words could convey the disgust she felt. His lips parted to reveal ivory teeth with pronounced canines.

"It makes all the difference in the world," he answered, and brushed her face with cold, wet, fingers as he took a strand of loose hair and ran it between his fingers. Eddie leapt back into the back counter, grateful there was a cash register between her and this man. He laughed, and it was like a thousand silver bells chiming.

"Come with me down to the lake," he said, and Eddie felt her heart stop and her mouth go dry. Eddie was certain if she ran her fingers through that black hair that seemed to move like waves across his handsome face she would find a waterweed. The right eye, though clouded, still searched her face.

 _You're the bastard that tried to kill Matt!_ Eddie snarled and resisted the urge to slam his head into the counter a few times. The kelpie raised his eyebrows at her furious expression, tilting his head as if he could not fathom why she was glowering at him. It made Eddie's smoldering temper flare into a flame. _You fucker, you really come here to smirk at me after what you did-?!_

"Come with me down to the lake," he raised his hand and repeated his order more forcibly. Eddie's hand began wandering to her chest for the charm around her neck.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, get back!" she sneered as she tore the chain apart and raised the blade to his face. He snarled and stepped back, baring his fangs.

"Eddie!" Ms. Takahashi snapped from the end of the counter but neither one wavered from their tense stare down. The girl looked away first however when the café owner grabbed her wrist to force her to put the blade down with one hand and with the other threw open the smoking toaster oven, forgotten in the fracas.

"You space cadet! What are you thinking?" the woman demanded as she pulled out a blackened tart. She turned to the kelpie who was scowling at them both now. Eddie glared back at him.

"I'm so sorry sir, I don't know what's gotten into the girl, it's like she's gone completely crazy!" Ms. Takahashi apologized as she whisked the charm away from her employee.

"Hey, Ms. Takahashi! Eddie was just defendin' herself! He was tryin' to order her to go somewhere with him!" Sarah appeared; she stayed a considerable distance away from the faerie, but glared at him all the same as she came to her friend's aide.

Eddie could barely hear Sarah however as someone else joined the fray. Jai Darzi, immaculate as ever in shined loafers and a pressed shirt stepped into the café. The kelpie sighted him immediately and turned towards him with a sneer. Eddie tensed at the horrifying thought there may be a duel right there in that small space.

“You will do no harm here, Naoise of Lake Santos,” Jai said quietly, he didn’t appear to be armed at all, his pants were smooth and he only wore a long sleeved shirt. Yet he stood with his back rigid and met the kelpie’s glower with a cool stare.

Ms. Takahashi narrowed her eyes and took in the scene before her. She released Eddie and glanced at where Stan was cowering by the coffee maker. "Why don't we all sit down and talk about this?"

"No, that will not be necessary," the kelpie turned on his heel and for the first time Eddie noticed he was barefoot. He faced Eddie again and took a long look at her, as if struggling to understand something. With Ms. Takahashi turned away from her Eddie silently gave a glare and raised a middle finger. The faerie turned away towards the prince who was blocking the exit of the front door.

“But we will meet again,” and with that subtle threat aimed at him Jai let the kelpie pass. He left a trail of small puddles in his monstrous wake. Eddie sighed and nearly collapsed when he had walked out of sight. Ms. Takahashi steadied her and frowned at the reaction.

"Do we need to call the police?" she asked softly.

"No, I'm fine. I…don't think, I sorta know him. I can handle him," Eddie babbled and realized from the expression on the older woman's face she had hardly soothed any fears she may have had. She sighed and stepped back. She glanced at Jai who was slowly moving towards taking a seat at a booth. Sarah turned her head and looked at him curiously as well.

"If that's how you feel, but I don't want him around the café again if you two are going to fight like that. It's bad for business," Takahashi told Eddie sternly. "I'll be calling the police if he comes around again despite whatever you say."

She slammed the charm onto the counter, leaving it for Eddie to re-take. "A word of advice however; no man is worth 'handling'. There's plenty of nice ones you won't even have to call the police on, and no shame in doing it if you have to."

Eddie just nodded weakly at the advice, unsure if she should feel like it actually related to her or not. She did however secure the charm back around her wrist.

"Now get to the storeroom and unpack the new shipment of cups."

Eddie nodded and tried to escape but Sarah caught her wrist as she passed her. To Eddie's surprise Ms. Takahashi allowed it as she simply threw away the burnt tart as Sarah pulled her close.  
"Eddie, who in the hell was that asshole?" She asked.

"A guy…from North Vale." She winced at her lie, she bit her lip, but it wasn't exactly like Sarah would believe he was a faerie with a vendetta. Much less that she wanted her friend to become involved in this death-match.

"Has he bothered you before?" her grip tightened, and Eddie gasped. Her mind raced for a way to assuage her friend's rightful fears.

"He wants a date, but I keep blowing him off. He's…just getting on my nerves. You got to admit I went a little overboard there with the knife," she forced herself to laugh. Sarah frowned but apparently found Eddie's ashamed expression convincing that she’d just had a bad reaction. Sarah laid her head on her shoulder.

"Well he should be able to take 'no' for an answer. Though I’m glad you don’t give it up for just anyone!" she teased and Eddie relaxed, and she stroked her friend's hair affectionately. _I don't deserve you at all Sarah_. “And by Saturday we’ll be at the merriest place on Earth, so forget about him.”  
“But is he my competition?” Sarah pointed at the prince and Eddie smiled slowly. Sarah leaned forward to whisper in her friend’s ear about the man right in front of him. “He’s gorgeous, where did you find him?”

“Oh, around,” Eddie said noncommittally about the fact the trap was baited with honey and not vinegar. Jai beamed at her from across the way. “Can you distract Takahashi for a second? So I can talk to him for a bit?”

“Sure, sure.” Sarah sat back down at the counter and proceeded to take out her phone. After a few swipes of the finger it was playing the most offensive punk rock imaginable. Ms. Takahashi rounded the corner quickly and soon they were in an argument over the merits of the underground rock.

Eddie slowly slipped into the booth across from Jai. Being in his presence was like being in mild sunshine, warm, embracing, and comforting.

“Ah…thank you, for today, for everything, really,” she said haltingly with a shy stutter. She looked at her hands. “I’m sorry I didn’t say so before. I was just….overwhelmed I guess. But I’m so glad…I.”

She blushed, was she really going to put it this way? She had never said something like this to anyone. “I’m glad I got to see you again.”

“I told you we would meet again.” Eddie slowly raised her head up. She saw Stan making a sarcastic face over Jai’s shoulder, rolling his eyes and curling his upper lip. Eddie put her hand underneath the table and flipped the boy off. What did the cowardly Stan Ngo know about princes anyway?

“Yes, I know but…” Eddie fumbled over her words. “Well, thanks, again.”

“I’ll escort you home tonight. I am certain the waterhorse is still around. We can talk more then.” Jai soothed her.

Eddie nodded and stood up to unpack the order as told before Ms. Takahashi landed the death blow to Sarah’s counterargument about political activism and unpopular music. Eddie walked into the storage room and with shaking hands tried to forget about the kelpie as she unloaded cups and stacked them with far more care than was needed.

She recalled what Nejem had said however about the iron drawn X's. On her break she asked Sarah to block Ms. Takahashi’s view as she stooped down and scratched an X into the front door frame with the charm. Jai seemed to smile in satisfaction at the gesture. As Eddie stood to go do the same thing to the back door, Sarah asked what the X was for.

"So I don't have to deal with anymore smirking bastards," Eddie responded hotly, the other girl opened and shut her mouth, apparently deciding to not pursue the conversation.

By the end of her shift the window sills bore the mark as well. Ms. Takahashi noticed some of them and remarked scornfully if the local boys did not think the size of their dick equaled their ability to commit minor property damage. Eddie simply politely nodded in agreement at her frustrated remarks, and then hid the paint cans so the woman couldn't undo her work right away.

 

 

“Thank you for staying with me the whole time,” Eddie said to Jai as he stood beneath the street lamp. She shrugged on her jacket after closing the café down for the night. Even stalwart Sarah had had to leave a few hours prior to fulfill an obligation to her mother. Stan left with a hand raised in a gesture of goodbye albeit he was as unimpressed by the prince as ever.

“It is my duty,” Jai replied. Though he had said it with a smile Eddie felt a slight pang at hearing that he considered his time with her a part of his job. She recalled however that he had said from the beginning that he was protecting her as ordered. She looked down at her feet, she needed to step back a little or she may get hurt.

“Yes, but it’s dangerous and you should be thanked for doing it,” Eddie insisted and took a step ahead of him. Jai looked struck by the idea but said nothing about it. They walked for a few feet down the street in an uneasy silence, perhaps by the idea something may be lurking in the shadows, or perhaps at the new tension in the relationship and where it was from.

Orangeblossom more or less closed at sunset save for the one saloon in town. There was almost no one walking on the main boulevard save for the few who disembarked from the single, daily bus. The traffic was scattered, the few commuters returning from distant workplaces melted into the dirt roads and low hills of the basin in brief and bright flashes. As they reached the outskirts of the town they were effectively alone and unseen, even walking along the edge of an open field. Eddie marveled that the prince didn’t even flinch to get those expensive loafers dirty.

The town’s namesake was fragrant upon the air and the scent doused her as she turned towards home. She was reminded of the fair in the coming weeks, of her calf at home she meant to sell there, and of all of Mindy’s stories of her childhood amongst the groves. For a second she recalled the great ebb and flow of life as that nostalgic smell washed over her. All that was worth living for, the past, the future, was right here.

“I should have left you better protected,” Jai suddenly said. Eddie paused in curiosity. “But I didn’t expect you to wait so long to speak to my master.”

“Oh, yeah,” Eddie rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “About that….um, what day be good for him, do you know?”

“Any. He has been waiting for you to contact him.” Jai informed her and Eddie began to feel mildly foolish for her hesitation.

“Well, then, how about tomorrow night? I’ll be out of town for a few days after that.” Eddie proposed.

“Excellent.” Jai walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “Then, in the meantime…”

He leaned down and kissed her. It was not passionate, it was polite, a simple laying of his lips upon hers, as chaste as a schoolboy’s. Yet it made her insides feel hot and her lips tingle. Jai stepped back and revealed he had given her that first taste of magic.

“Now simply by saying my name, you’ll be able to summon me.” He smiled. “Much faster than today.”

“A useful gesture,” Eddie went rigid as she recognized that cold tone. She would never forget the sound of the kelpie’s voice. She looked up and saw him standing a few feet away, barely visible in the weak moonlight but there could only be one creature with as much deadliness in his expression.

“I hope she’ll cry out for you every time she sees me,” the kelpie stepped forward and Jai moved his arm to push Eddie back. “For one day you and I will duel you prince and I’ll crush your head between my jaws.”

Jai stiffened at the threat and Eddie felt her temper rise in response. She stepped out from behind him and clenched her fists.

“Why do you have to be such a bully?!” Eddie demanded of the faerie. “Are threats and fear the only way you know how to get what you want?”

“It is not a threat,” Though his expression was lost in the darkness Eddie could detect that irritating head-tilt of his. He stepped forward and Eddie didn’t step back. He at last came close enough to be seen, only about six feet away. He smiled at her, all arrogance and brutality.

“It is inevitable if this prince insists on challenging me.” He glanced at Jai. “As a prince must if he is to be one at all.”

For the first time Eddie saw a very ugly expression mar Jai’s handsome face. His jaw was clenched with flared nostrils. He bared his teeth and widened his eyes as a predator does before lashing out. His chest shuddered with broken breaths that seemed to graze his throat like glass shards.

It was a look of unadulterated hatred. It was a look inspired by only true feeling and that rare one of real loathing for another being. The kelpie lifted his chin at the expression and smirked. He turned his inhuman eyes to Eddie however.

“That is between us, but I thought it fair for you to know.” He informed her. Eddie clenched her jaw. He was trying to scare her into not summoning protection for herself the next time he approached her! Perhaps he saw her furious look because he elaborated.

“I would not like to murder him in front of you,” he told her and Eddie snorted in surprise. “I would court you, if you would allow it.”

“No, no, no! I don’t!” Eddie was surprised to find herself stamping her foot but she could not emphasize her refusal enough. “You can forget it! So! Just! Fuck off!”

The kelpie narrowed his eyes. “This courtship is in lieu of far greater punishment for your trespass on my waters and the gouging of my eye.”

He ran his fingers beneath his opaque right eye.

“I know it! But I won’t have it! Just leave me alone! I’m sorry you’re angry but I wasn’t picking a fight with you. I never meant to hurt you either! Please! I just wanted to protect my brother’s life!”

“Your intent doesn’t matter.” The kelpie sneered.

“Well! Yours _does_ and you can forget about selling me to the highest bidder in Faerie bucko!” Eddie screamed. Jai put a hand on her shoulder to soothe her, his own anger must have been forgotten in the force of hers.

“You’ve spoken to Dougal.” The kelpie glowered and Eddie didn’t correct him. Dougal was the other kelpie and he probably had a better chance of surviving his brother’s anger than Mr. MacGregor would. The faerie turned away from their stare down first. Eddie joyfully devoured the feeling of petty victory.

“I can see there is no reasoning with you.” Eddie nearly choked on his hypocrisy. He looked back at her. “A pity, perhaps you would even find you liked me, if you would get to know me.”  
Eddie merely sneered at his presumptuousness. He disappeared however in a slow dissolve that consumed him from his feet to his leering face. Eddie grasped at Jai’s shirt as her knees began to tremble.

“Is he still around, you think?” she asked in a breathless whisper.

“No, I think he’s heading back towards the lake.” He put an arm around her waist to steady her. “And don’t worry about me. He won’t kill me.”

“What makes you think that?” Eddie asked as she tried to calm her shaking. She certainly had been given no reason to believe so.

“Because if he were to do that it would greatly anger my master, and his agreement to not kill you is so that he does not go to war with him.” Jai was resolute and Eddie inhaled sharply. Did Regan really possess enough power to make a kelpie think twice? Eddie looked at the prince’s expression staring out into the night, into the void the kelpie had disappeared into, that we would all disappear into. It was hopeful, but not confident. For the first time Eddie had the thought the prince may not be more than a pawn, and one who knew he could be sacrificed.

“Eddie, please, don’t be afraid. If something were to happen to you, I couldn’t be myself anymore.” Jai said quietly, still looking out onto a vista only he could see, painted by whatever emotions stirred his lower lip to tremble. In that moment Eddie held him tighter, understanding at last that look of hatred. _You will never be what you wish to be_. And was that not a reproach she knew very well?

“I promise, I won’t be afraid.” She vowed. She would never let fear guide her actions ever again. She had made that promise once before but in her terror she had already begun to forget it. At seeing Jai’s sorrow she would renew her oath. She would live in love, and never fear.

Whatever happened in this great tangle of thorns, she would never forget who she was.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie finally speaks to the local enchanter; Regan Seele. A man who probably needs no introduction at this point. (Did I build him up enough?) Eddie and Sarah take a well deserved vacation. It's interrupted however by a Mexican stand-odd on an amusement park ride.

Of course Matthew could only think his little sister was preparing for a date when he saw her wearing a flattering blue sundress with her hair carefully pulled back. He glanced at the emerald studs in her ears and the small traces of mascara and lip gloss. He frowned at the delicate flat shoes that enclosed her just painted toenails. He may have been relieved before to see such ritualized behavior, but he had heard there was a demon in town, and that was the last thing he wanted summoned by Eddie’s charm.

“Going out?” he asked casually enough from the couch in the parlor. The main hallway to the bedrooms in the back ran down the middle of their small home. It was very hard to keep secrets in such an enclosed space.

“Oh, yes.” Eddie looked away sheepishly as she walked into the kitchen for a drink.

“With who?” Matthew carefully looked away as well, watching his sister’s expression through the corner of his eye. He saw her hesitation and his heart jumped.

“Jai Darzi.” She at last said as she turned away to pour her glass of water. Matthew raised his head.

“And is that the one who came into the café and caused such a scene?” He asked. Ms. Takahashi had been the one who had alerted him to the matter. The young man had unnerved her, and believed the older brother should be aware of him. He saw Eddie’s shoulders tense and she turned around quickly.

“No, no, no!” She shook her hand. “That was another guy! Another guy I told to fuck off.”

Matthew relaxed, he should have known Eddie could take care of herself. Yet the situation still upset him for he never liked it when she kept things from him.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked softly. Eddie came in and sat down next to him on the couch. She frowned at the re-run of an old sitcom she had never liked but that was television when you only had as many channels as the bunny-ears would pick up.

“I didn’t want you to worry,” she shrugged. “It seemed like he took my words to heart.”

Matthew had a distinct impression she had just lied through her teeth. He sat back and crossed his legs as he opened up an investigation.

“Tell me about this Jai Darzi.”

Eddie looked at her feet and sighed dreamily. “Oh, he’s a great guy, a real prince.”

She seemed to realize something and looked up at him. “But this is not a date, if that’s what you mean.”

“Do _you_ think it’s a date?” Matthew dryly asked as he indicated her attire.  
“He’s taking me somewhere very fancy,” Eddie sniffed and Matthew gave her an incredulous look. Eddie glowered, “we’re just going to talk. We…have a lot in common.”

“Oh okay. After all people only go on dates when they have nothing to talk about and no mutual interests at all.” Matthew was given a dirty look for his comment and he scoffed at her.

“I’m sorry Eddie. But, look, if you’re worried I’m going to play overprotective older brother with your new boyfriend, don’t. If he’s a good guy who treats you well, I’ll stay away. But don’t delude yourself he’s not after sex---“

“He’s not!” Eddie snapped.

“---Well maybe not so soon, hopefully.” Matthew allowed. He gently patted her cheek. “Just don’t get yourself hurt.”

Eddie relaxed, her eyelids fluttered at his touch. “I’m sorry I got a little angry.”

Matthew pulled his hand away. “And that other guy really didn’t shake you up?”

She frowned and he elaborated. “I’m sorry but you’ve been acting….well, sort of cagey I guess all week. Ever since we fell into that lake. You’ve been skulking around the property doing I don’t know what and been sort of withdrawn. I mean, I guess that’s why I was so bothered when I heard about that guy even though I knew you tell him to fuck off yourself.”

Eddie was quiet for a few seconds, clearly digesting his words. He knew as she did the elephant in the room was called “Depression” and its mate was “Alcoholism”.

“Oh, oh, don’t cry, Ed, you’ll smear your mascara,” Matthew cursed himself for his clumsy handling of the subject. He raised her head gently in his hands and kept his thumbs below her eyes to catch those tears.

“Come on, I know you like horror movies but does your boy? You may scare him off if he thinks he’s takin’ a zombie out.” It was a nonsensical joke, but there it was, her smile. It was like when they were kids, say any funny thing just to redirect her attention and make her smile again. Eddie even gave a small laugh though it was more of a hiccup.

“I’m sorry if I made you worry. I guess there has been a lot on my mind lately. Sarah is going to leave for college this Fall too. But, don’t worry about me, if I need anything, I’ll tell you.” Matthew let her go, but there was still the feeling he knew so little about her life now, and he wasn’t even sure when that had happened. They both looked at the door at the ring. Eddie leapt up to answer it while Matthew slowly stood up. He put his hands in his pockets as Eddie let the young man in.

He was older than Matthew had expected, probably closer in age to him than Eddie. He was also far better dressed than he would have expected for anyone from Orangeblossom, with an actual tailored suit and shined shoes. He was handsome and his expression was kind, but Matthew felt that suspicion of what was not like himself in his breast.

“Not from around here, are you?” He asked wryly as he shook Jai Darzi’s hand after Eddie had introduced him. Darzi laughed softly, not at all offended and only amused.

“No, not really. I was born in L.A. and I do most of my business there. Actually I am a friend and partner of Regan Seele.” Matthew glanced at Eddie and she looked surprised as well to hear this. Matthew kept Darzi’s hand in his and squeezed gently, but firmly.

“And how did you meet my sister then?”

“At the café, I was stopping for a bite to eat.”

Matthew looked at Eddie and she beamed. The older brother slowly let go of the suitor’s hand. He didn’t like this at all, how could he? A wealthy young man who could probably have any bimbo he wanted but instead choose a young woman a few years younger in age and from a poor community. Fine if Eddie wanted that forbidden fling but her earlier insistence this man was not after sex alone bothered him. It was naïve, and Eddie was far from sheltered. It meant she must have true feelings for this guy and was in a very vulnerable position.

“Ah, and have you already promised the world to her?” Matthew laughed to subtly hide his jab.

“It is Eddie who promised me,” Darzi smiled down at her and she looked away with a slight blush. Matthew was unsure what to make of the statement. All he knew was the words didn’t soothe him.

“Well don’t be too late Ed,” Matthew patted her head and Eddie huffed in a small outrage. He looked at Darzi. “I’ll be waiting up.”

Darzi smiled again, but this time perhaps in apprehension.

“Fine, fine, bye Matt.” Eddie raised a hand in farewell as she pushed her date out the door. Matthew put his hands in his pockets and contemplated the grains and whorls of the front door after it had been shut. Well at least he knew the man’s face and name, in case he had to smash in the headlights of that red BMW he glimpsed through the window.

That feeling of a divide remained and it felt like it had grown by a few dozen feet in just a few minutes. He sat down with a heavy weight on his shoulders. And this time, he felt uncertain what to do. He had no true idea what had brought on this fear and he could not fight a nameless enemy.

 _”If I need something, I’ll tell you.”_  
“Eddie,” he sighed. “When has that ever been true?”

 

 

Eddie found her memory of Regan Seele had been somewhat tainted by anxiety and time. He was not as tall as Eddie had recalled nor as broad of shoulder. Matt was even an inch taller than him and heavier than him. Though he still was able to tower over her as he wished. She had forgotten the manicure that made him less terrifying and tonight he may have been dressed down in a simple polo shirt and slacks.

He was good looking like all the Seeles were. He had green eyes that looked lovely against his dusty skin tone, a few shades darker than his sister’s. They had the same black hair, and shared the eye color of their late mother. Neither looked like the late ruddy and blonde Michael Seele, the man whose ashes were enshrined besides his portrait on the mantle of the fireplace.

His smile however was the same as before, distant and full of coached civility. It was not a look of distaste as she remembered however, more of one of indifference. It was a practiced gesture and perhaps because of it anyone was able to find whatever they liked in it.

The door was opened by a chubby woman with an adorable face of large eyes and a short nose. As Eddie walked past her she couldn’t help but to receive the impression the woman was fae. Those eyes were like those of the kelpie, dark and deep. She was introduced as “Rhona” by Jai and while the woman nodded at them both, there was a wall there. That too reminded her of the divide between two worlds.

Eddie looked up when her name was called and Regan Seele greeted her. He walked down the spiral staircase leading to the upper story of the house with perfect grace. This was a custom designed home Eddie knew, for digging into the mountain had surely been a very costly construction. It was the highest seat in Los Olivos, the community founded by the late Michael Seele.

He had retired out here with his second wife. This was surely not the main residence for any of the Seele family. Kelly lived in town, the step-daughter didn’t attend any local school, and Regan had offices in L.A. and Orange County. Mrs. Seele had fled the mountains when her husband had died. To be met here was entirely for her own convenience.

The house was larger within than it looked on the outside. It bore deeply into the mountain. From where she stood in the entrance there was like a floor above and maybe one or two below. The garage was for sure below. Before she could ponder over the meaning of the design however Regan escorted them to a parlor.

Of course the man have good taste in art, or whoever had decorated the place did. Though the foyer had the feel of gothic with its ornate chandelier and its grand spiral staircase, the parlor was gently flowed into despite it being decorated in a style separated by centuries from that of the very front of the home. Eddie knew those must have been commissioned murals over the fireplace for they carried the signature of the artist in the corner. No one Eddie had ever heard of, but that was to be expected. The figures followed no popular artwork of the Art Nouveau movement they were styled after. They were their own figures of fecundity, existing for this family’s felicity alone.

“Would you like a drink?” Regan offered as Jai indicated for her to sit next to him on the sofa.

“Oh, no thank you.” Eddie waved her hand. She was a little startled either Regan didn’t know she was under the drinking age or didn’t care. And he had apparently forgotten their first encounter. He shrugged and called for Rhona to pour two glasses, one of whiskey and one of bourbon.

“Well, I guess we should get down to business then.” Regan mused as he sat in the armchair across from his guests. He peered at Eddie. “I’m aware of the trouble you’re in. There is no love lost between me and that waterhorse. I’m also aware of Ewan MacGregor’s ‘plan’…”

He lifted a lip to indicate a bad taste in his mouth. Eddie felt her back tense at this flare of familial hostility, that feeling she was on a battlefield she couldn’t comprehend.

“But I am of the opinion that first it’s unfair to you and second, it won’t work.”

“Won’t work?” Eddie stopped herself when Rhona appeared with the two glasses. Regan took his glass and nodded in gratitude to the woman. He continued speaking as she remained standing in the room, removing much of the doubt Eddie may have had that the woman wasn’t fae.

“Yes. Waterhorses are well known for their cruelty and brutality. Let me tell a brief story to illustrate: There once was a young woman who had been abducted by a waterhorse to be his bride. She bore him a child during her captivity.”

A fleeting, dark look came over Rhona’s face and she removed herself from the room. Eddie couldn’t begin to fathom her reaction as Regan finished his horrifying tale.

“Eventually she was able to escape but not able to take her child with her. She felt no fear in leaving him behind however because she thought the waterhorse adored his child and would never harm him. And to be brief I will skip what happened until the last act, and here is the conclusion. The waterhorse threw the head of his child he had loved so much against the mother’s door.” Eddie sank back as that same darkness she had seen in Rhona’s face passed over Regan’s. He looked away to apparently collect himself with a stiff drink from his glass. Eddie glanced at Jai who avoided her gaze.

“So that really happened?” she asked softly.

“Heh, there is no reason to think it didn’t, trust me.” Regan sighed as he looked back up at her. He narrowed his eyes. “I would save you, Eddie, from Faerie if you were taken there. You would never be able to return on your own. No human can.”

Eddie felt a shot go through her heart. “But you’re also….”

“No.” Regan smiled and it was not his usual one. It was bitter and cold. “I am the son of a fae.”

“Naoise isn’t your father is he?!” Eddie burst out. She could feel Jai shift away, her first warning that was not a thing that should have been said. Regan stared in shock at her and for a second he looked properly enraged at the thought. He seemed to collect himself however and gave a great booming laugh.

“Oh no! As if my mother ever lower herself to the indignity!” he snickered and Eddie took the insult gratefully over his fury of a few seconds before.

“Well you just told that story and…” Eddie shrugged helplessly. She didn’t dare to say she could understand how someone could hate their father.

“No. But it is his fault I exist.” Regan chortled. His tone became bitter again. “And I am certain no one told you why-!”

“No, please!” Eddie held her hands up to her ears. “Please! I’m sorry! I just don’t want to become anymore involved in this than I already am! Please!”

Regan paused, he sat back and contemplated her for a few seconds with a bemused look. It turned into a smile again, distant and amused, like that of a demon hanging overhead.

“I understand. You’ve already gotten a small taste of the blood this is all soaked in, haven’t you?” he said gently and Eddie slowly lowered her hands. He looked at Jai. “Mr. Darzi, please go fetch the gift I have for my guest.”

Regan took Jai’s place on the sofa. Eddie turned slightly away from him but kept her eyes locked on his. Regan put a hand between them, begging for her to open up to him.

“But this is your own family matter, isn’t it? I understand Naoise was trying to kill your brother when you broke the seal. It was that love that escaped his jaws.”

“Please, when you said the plan wouldn’t work, what did you mean exactly?” she whispered, the expected answer was an abstract horror in her head, all it needed was confirmation to take full terrifying shape.

“A hundred things could go wrong based on the whims of that waterhorse. If I were to rescue you from Faerie, what’s to stop him from trying to kill you when we return? Never mind with the warping between the worlds everyone we both know may be dead at that time as time flows differently in Faerie.” He paused and leaned further in. “And there is _nothing_ to stop him from killing your brother at any time, or anyone else you may love.”

As Eddie drew in her breath Regan laid a hand on hers. “I know he threatened to kill Mr. Darzi too in front of you, and trust me, he would do it without a second thought.”

He squeezed her hand and distracted her before the true meaning of the statement hit her. All that played in her mind was her fear of that night when the kelpie had confronted the prince about their inevitable conflict.

“But I’m going to give you something that will prevent all of that.” Regan sat back, releasing her hand. Eddie leaned forward, chasing after him in desperation. Jai appeared by his shoulder, carrying a well-worn and stained cloth in his arms. It was wrapped around something that made the package awkward and cumbersome. Regan turned around and took the cloth gently from the prince and set it in his lap. Eddie realized the cloth had once been red, faded into a light brown with age. What had stained it appeared to be water and even singe marks of fire. Regan moved his hands and pulled back the shroud. He revealed what at first appeared to be a riding bridle.

When Eddie looked more closely however she recognized the shimmer of gold and realized the bridle was woven from thousands of fine threads. There was one imperfection in the weaving however, the strap that would run by the right eye had appeared to have been cut at one point. The repair was minute but it broke the perfect weaving of the threads.

“What is this?” Eddie asked softly, she reached to touch it, but thought better of it, and her fist curled beneath her chin in wonder.

“The original kelpie’s bridle. My ancestor, known as Warlock Willox, of the clan MacGregor, my mother’s family, struck it from the head of a waterhorse when the creature was tempting him to ride it. For sometimes they appear in fine tack to lure a rider, a costume of magic from Faerie. Willox was a clever magician, and he crafted a second bridle by hand after repairing this one. With his crafted one, one of his descendants was able to snare a kelpie to lure a more dangerous one. And with the first he was able to subdue the wilder one of the pair.”

Regan held the bridle up for Eddie to truly see its intricate weaving. She imagined each of those threads was perhaps magic in a solidified form, and not gold at all. It made her even more afraid to touch it. Regan smirked at her stare as he finished his story.

“The crafted bridle was destroyed when the enslaved waterhorses were set free. However my family kept this original one, far more superior, for it can never be destroyed by human hands. It alone could hold Naoise of Lake Santos in its bonds.”

“Wait, are you saying…you want me to use that on him?” Eddie gasped.

“The only time Naoise is not dangerous is when he is enslaved.” Regan’s smile only broadened.

“I don’t understand.”

“Naoise, and the other kelpie, Dougal, were both chattel of my family for many generations.” Regan explained and Eddie recoiled.

“I’m not going to enslave him!” she cried.

“He would enslave you without a second thought. You know it is what he intends to do.” Regan lifted his chin. “And it is the only way to keep him from killing anyone.”

“Oh my god.” Eddie covered her face with her hands. She took in a deep breath. “I can’t believe that is the only option-! There has to be something else-!”

“The only other option is for you to die.” Regan’s voice was hard. “And your life is surely above his freedom.”

Eddie shook her head but slowly she lowered her hands. She wrapped them around the back of her neck. She cringed at the weight settling on her.

“I-! I don’t need to decide right now. Right? Let me think about it.” She pleaded as she dropped her hands into her lap. But she was defeated in the slump of her shoulders, bending at the burden that had been placed on her. Regan frowned at her and sat back.

“The longer you wait, the more likely it is he will kill again. But…” He shrugged. He picked up the bridle in one hand and with a shake it was much smaller. It was the size of a doll’s tack when he dropped it into Eddie’s lap. “Keep it near and wait for the right moment. Take it in hand and give it a firm shake for it to return to full size.”

He sighed, “For I know how this will end, despite your hesitation.”

Eddie picked up the bridle and placed it in her purse. She had no idea what she would do and though Regan’s certainty of her actions rankled, she couldn’t deny she would do what she must to save the life of another.

“You really hate him, don’t you?” she asked softly as she placed the relic into the inside pocket of her purse.

“You would understand if you knew what happened to my mother.” Eddie said nothing. She had a feeling it had nothing to do with his mother at all, and only himself. She stood up.

“Thank you, I suppose. For your insight and help.” Regan stood too.

“It’s no problem. After all you’re Matthew Moreno’s little sister. Kelly is planning a little luncheon so we can all get to know each other better.” He told her.

“Eh?” Eddie blinked, she was a little startled by the idea. She liked Kelly but she had only met her for brief moments as the woman worked so much her time was greatly limited. Matthew had been reading the situation right then, this was getting more serious.

“Oh that be lovely but I’ll be gone for the next two days. I’m visiting family down in O.C.” Eddie informed him.

“Good. Get your head straight. It wouldn’t be until Tuesday afternoon anyway I believe.” Regan dropped a hand on her shoulder. “And try to act surprised when you see me, hm? Kelly doesn’t know about any of this. Any of it, just like Matthew. Whom I am sure thinks you are with Mr. Darzi.”

“Oh, yes.” Eddie glanced over at the prince who had been silent this entire night. He had retreated to the armchair and looked away when she met his gaze. All night he had behaved as if he rather not be here, to her utter confusion when he had been the one to press her to come.

Regan let her go then with a word good bye and Eddie thanked him again if only for the sake of the manners her grandmother had worked so hard to instill in her. Jai offered her his arm as they left through the front door. Rhona was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, are you afraid of Regan?” Eddie asked as she pulled her seatbelt over her shoulder once they were back in Jai’s car. She cringed as she asked, she had found no more subtle way to phrase her suspicions however.

Jai didn’t look surprised at her question, only startled she would ask. He paused as he started the engine and then shook his head. “No, no, of course not. Why would you say that?”

“I guess….maybe I don’t understand your relationship. But you were quiet that whole time, like he had asked you to be.” Eddie helplessly shrugged.

“That was because it was your business, I only wanted to be there for support.” He smiled and Eddie recalled when he had told her protecting her was his duty. Perhaps she should remember how much of their relationship hinged on what Jai saw as obligation and that he was some sort of servant. And a servant of Regan Seele.

Eddie deflated a little and watched the countryside wind by, the flash points of homes and landscape were like stills of a playing film reel, glimpses of images that made the whole.

“What do you think, then, of what to do about Naoise?” she asked softly. Jai inclined his head.

“I think you’ll make the right decision, whatever it is.” Eddie sighed as that didn’t help her at all. She felt the urge to ask him exactly what Regan had on him, or what maybe what he owed the other man, but that too would only be peeling back the layers of the shroud. Besides what right did she have to go prying into Jai’s life when he had been only kind to her? He certainly hadn’t asked why she wanted to save Matthew’s life, he had only trusted it had been the right thing to do.

And though she didn’t give voice to the thought, she still felt it in her heart; Jai, like Regan, and probably MacGregor too, were tainted sources of information. This framework of intersecting hatred, biases, and maybe even outright lies would collapse on her if she was not careful. She already knew in her heat that she could only truly depend on herself.

And perhaps that’s what Jai already knew as well.

When they arrived at her home and after they stepped out of the car Jai put his hands on her shoulders. Eddie hoped it was too dark to see her blush as he kissed her cheek. He said, “Just remember your promise to me, to not be afraid.”

“I won’t.” she confirmed. She gently grasped his wrist and squeezed it. He smiled and let her go. She stood in the darkness and removed her charm from between her breasts. She grasped it as she listened to the wind glide across the countryside. The scent of oranges overlaid that of manure, a hearty scent that devoured all others in the warm night.

“When we meet again, Naoise, I like to speak to you.” Eddie sighed. And she knew they inevitably would.

“So you don’t do anything so stupid as to force me to use this damned bridle!” she hissed between her teeth. She received no answer however, the only ones apparently still awake were the stars above in their dreamy float across the dark sky. Well at least she wouldn’t see him for two days at least, that would give her more time to compose her speech. After all, he surely couldn’t follow her for more than a hundred miles, especially when he would not come now when he was a little bit more than three miles away.

And wrapped in her delusion, for she had no idea how grand fae liked their courtships, she went inside her home.

There was an intrinsic joy to the amusement park, a happiness that could not be wavered even by the heat and the swell of people. It may have been the nostalgia of childhood memories, the bright colors and sounds of laughter, all flowing over the body of every visitor. Eddie felt _safe_ in the park and in a way she had not since she had fallen into Lake Santos. Here she was with her best friend and beloved cousin on each side, speaking of nothing that mattered and thinking only of amusement. It was a splendid microcosm, an insular world of wonder where none of the suffering of life penetrated.

The delusion was perhaps bolstered by memories of familial love. Eddie and Sarah had spent the night at her Abuela’s home that her older cousin Gabby and her parents also shared. They lived in the city adjacent to the amusement park. She had seen the home she had grown up in, reborn to shelter another family. She had been encased in all the comfort of the familiar.

She had roamed the neighborhoods that were traced by reminiscence of hundreds of previous days. The path to school. The winding circuits of Halloween. The panicked rushes of safety under the bridge that spanned the flood channel. The miniscule bike paths behind and between homes. The secret alleyways of youthful depravity.

Nothing had changed here. Only she had. She had taken care however to not carry any regret or fear with her. She let herself dissolve in the crevices of security. The park she had visited a dozen times before would always be as much of a refuge as her grandmother’s arms.

Eddie became so comfortable she allowed herself to be the single rider during the second turn on the “Haunted Swamp” ride. The boat only allowed for two riders and Gabby had taken the place of the single last time. Eddie insisted their guest not be made to sit alone and took her lone seat in the boat behind.

The ride operated as a slow float around various scenes of ghosts frolicking about a Louisiana swamp. The ride was mercifully cool as it was inside and powered by water. Eddie sat back with a deep sigh. It was a wonderful thing, to be able to just sit back and look at marvels for about ten minutes or so in the cool air. It was exactly what was needed after walking around a hot park all day.

The ride abruptly stopped however before the scene of ghosts holding a ball in a partially collapsed plantation mansion. It was not unusual for the ride to pause while someone who needed extra assistance was getting on. Eddie noticed however that somehow Sarah and Gabby’s boat had turned the corner so they were out of sight, and the other boat behind was also out of sight. She shrugged however at the strange arrangement, well she supposed anything was possible based on the speed and pacing of the ride.

Instead she turned her attention to the dance of the skeletons and corpses. They were ethereal creatures who flickered in and out of sight, products of mirrors and lights supposedly. The chandelier swung back and forth, going in and out of sight, yet somehow its flames always remained visible.

It was a vast canvas that was almost too much for the eye to take it at once. As Eddie looked about she noticed new things each time. There was the Papillion being fed the finger bones of a small child, by the small child as she giggled in delight. The horrified look of the groundkeeper as he apparently stumbled across the scene, the lantern lighting his animatronic face, beamed out from the far left corner. There was the weeping debutante on the front steps, her tears never reaching the ground. It was a marvelous show of chicanery and Eddie loved every minute of it.

She became so entranced she didn’t even notice the demon at her elbow until he spoke.

“Care for a dance?” Eddie leapt across the other seat of the boat, nearly capsizing the vessel in her fright. The kelpie calmly counterbalanced the boat by placing a hand on the seat she had left. He raised an eyebrow at her terror. He was standing waist deep in the water, utterly nonplussed. Eddie swallowed and gathered her thoughts as she clung to the other side of the boat, as far away from him as possible.

“How did you get here?” she hissed.

“I am a kelpie, lord of the waterways. If water flows through it, I can use it as a path.” Eddie cursed herself that she had become so careless. Hadn’t Regan called him a “waterhorse”? Didn’t he and his brother live in a lake and a river respectively?! Of course water was his main transport, how could she have been so thickheaded?! She would have just never thought he come all this way!

“You paused the ride didn’t you, singled me out?” she gritted her teeth in anger. She wasn’t sure if she was angrier at him or herself however.

“I wanted to speak to you alone.” He leapt up to stand on the other seat, towering over her. Surely only by magic he didn’t capsize the boat with the sudden shift in weight. Oh god but he probably had control of all the water here didn’t he? He could probably easily drown her in this four feet of water and the boat too! He offered his hand again. “A dance?”

“I-!” Eddie recalled the bridle, hanging around her neck now along with the charm. She also remembered her desire to speak to him. She exhaled slowly. “I’m not much of a dancer. I do want to talk to you though. So maybe….sit?”

“This is a courtship. I want to show you something you’ll never forget,” he offered his hand again and Eddie sighed. Well she had the charm and the bridle now, and he didn’t want to kill her. She just had to make sure he didn’t trick her into wearing a ring. If he wanted to show off, maybe it would distract him a little. God knew she had no idea how she could escape him, for all she knew she was in a magic bubble and totally cut off from reality.

She put her hand in his and shivered at the cold feeling of his flesh. He gently lifted her up, putting his hand in the small of her back to help her balance as they stepped off the boat and walked the three steps to the shore on top of the water. Yes he was certainly the one in control here, and the feeling of his hands recalled that feeling of drowning in his lake.

He led her across the plastic vines and moss of the scene and up the steps of the dilapidated mansion. They walked past the weeping girl and her soft cries. While Eddie could now see the lights that gave life to the attraction, she could see no mirrors or other trickeries that were rumored to create the illusions she was now surrounded by. Perhaps this place had a magic of its own as well. It may have been why the kelpie had chosen it as his hunting ground.

He stood before her within the staged ruins. He had a detached expression, he may as well been one of the illusions that danced around them, through them, but he was something much more eternal than a trickery of light. He led her in a perfect box step and then the graceful gliding of a waltz. She was impressed he knew the dance and that he was able keep time with the distant piano music despite her stumbling.

“How do you know the waltz?” she asked once she moved beyond the fact she was dancing with a barefoot faerie. She was dressed even more inappropriately in shorts and a tee with a pair of raggedly sneakers on her feet.

“I was taught,” was his only answer. Eddie shrugged and as she became more comfortable with following his lead she broached the first subject.

“Okay. I want to level with you.” She began and he at last looked her in the eyes instead of his distant gaze of somewhere over her head. His clouded eye was beginning to clear; it was healing. The mending tear however only revealed an unending darkness, like sinking further and further down. “I know a little bit about you. I know once you and your brother were slaves of the MacGregor family. That you were captured because you wanted to save, Dougal, was it?”

“Why are you talking about this?” He pushed her away and caught her wrist at the moment of freefall to spin her. His voice was neutral but his gesture may have been a warning. He was the one leading this dance.

“Because that means you’re not entirely heartless if you cared about someone else.” Eddie cringed as his hands retook their position on her waist and over her hand. She tried to meet his gaze again but he was looking away from her, damn him!

“Because then can’t you understand the position I’m in?! All I wanted to do was save my brother’s life because I love him! Didn’t you want to do the same for yours? It was never about challenging you!” Eddie cried.

“It is _not_ the same!” Naoise snapped. He at last looked at her again and it was with wide jaws, rimmed with fangs. She gasped, the same gaping maw that had belonged to him as the monstrous horse! She reared back as he snarled at her. She struggled for a few seconds, eyes closed, not wanting to look at the face of death! He let her go and she stumbled back. She crawled across phantoms and came to rest against a protective armchair. Naoise had his face covered with his hands, apparently struggling to reign in his anger. Eddie tried to catch her breath. No matter how he looked, she should never forget the beast that laid just below the surface!

“It is not the same,” he repeated as he slowly lowered his hands. He raised his head, balefully looking down at her. She met his gaze with a glower. He stared her down for a few seconds more before he looked away with a great sigh. His mouth twisted bitterly as he continued. “Dougal was tricked, _I_ was tricked. You both entered the lake on your own inclinations.”

“But I would be tricked, told I would be a bride, but sold as a slave!” Eddie countered angrily, moving to keep the armchair between her and the faerie as she stood back up. Naoise only glowered at her. Eddie screamed, “would you not even admit it now, that you mean me harm?!”

“Could you not admit the same?” Naoise asked snidely and Eddie shut and closed her mouth in outrage. Yes, she did mean him harm, she had the charm and the bridle. She would enslave him before he could do the same to her. She would cut him before he could cut her. She seethed, fuck this shit, how had they come to a god damned Mexican stand-off in the middle of an amusement park ride?!

“Couldn’t I offer anything else, than my life or my freedom? Isn’t there something else I could do for you? I would swear upon my life, that I would never come near your lake again!”

“I am afraid I know enough of humans to not trust them,” Naoise frowned and Eddie supposed she couldn’t argue that with something that had once been tricked into bondage. Naoise rolled his wrist and upon it appeared a pearl ring. “I am being merciful. Wear my ring. You may come to like me, and who knows? I may grow fond of you.”

“No! No!” Eddie shook her head.

“What about this one?” He let the pearl ring drop to be replaced with a sapphire ring.

“God damn it, no!” She thought of calling the prince, but she also recalled Naoise’s threat to one day kill him. Her heart froze in fear. Damn her, she was nothing but a coward!

“Ah, but this,” He held up his next ring like an infernal salesman. “Is moonstone, with it you may even find your way out of Faerie on your own.”

“May?” she repeated incredulously.

“May.” He confirmed. “It would depend upon the wearer.”

Eddie blinked but then shook her head. No, she should know better than to think he would offer her something that could truly help her. He was just trying to trick her, like when he presented the possibility he may spare her in love. He would say anything to sweeten the bait.

“It doesn’t matter at all what you may offer me, the answer is no!” She stepped out from behind the chair and he presented the moonstone ring again.

“Think carefully about it!” He tossed it at her, probably hoping she would catch it and passively accept his proposal. She let it land at her feet, and near it she drew an X with the iron charm. She kept the golden bridle hidden in her palm. It was now her last resort.

“Leave me alone!” she cried as the spell took effect. And she was left alone. The phantoms continued their ethereal dance as she stared at where the kelpie had stood a moment before. He had left only a trail of puddles and droplets in his wake.

Eddie raised her head as the tract that pushed the ride started to move again with a grinding noise. She gathered up the rings in fear of leaving them for anyone to find. For all she knew they were cursed or something. She quickly ran down to the shore and managed to time a leap to land her back into the boat without tipping it over. She dropped the rings into the water before that kelpie could argue she wanted to marry him three times over.

She sat back with a sigh and looked up as the boat turned the corner. There was Sarah’s red hair and Gabby’s baseball cap. Sarah caught her eye and waved her hand at her. Whatever she said was lost in a canon boom as the ride floated past a battle scene. Eddie wondered if the ride had even stopped at all for them.

Her suspicion was confirmed when neither Sarah nor Gabby commented on the twenty minute or so pause after they had left the ride. They both noticed Eddie’s silence and nervous glances. She invented the lie of a slight stomachache to explain why she seemed disquieted, and it was agreed that the rocking motion of the Tropical Float ride would only further upset it. She was mercifully allowed instead to sit in the shade upon a bench and nurse a bottle of water.

She mused on whether she would ever be able to go near flowing water ever again. She sat back and closed her eyes, listening to the noise of the crowd become a distant hum. _Well Eddie if you can just keep this up until you’re ninety you’ll be fine._

“Excuse me, Miss?” Eddie opened her eyes and glanced to her right. Next to her was an older gentleman. He was wearing a three piece suit, with a tie that matched the large yellow cat ears of the park’s mascot, Carl Cat, upon his head. His white beard reached his bulging waist, and his moustache was carefully trimmed. Eddie raised her head and sat up, ready to tell him she had no great idea where anything in the park was.

“Please excuse the intrusion you had during your time here.”  
Eddie blinked in confusion and the man bowed his head. “That spirit that bothered you during the Haunted Swamp attraction, he should have never been able to slip past me.”

“Who are you?” she asked. She wondered if anyone else could see the spirit or if to the passer-by she as merely having a conversation with herself.

“I am John Chang. Once I was manager of park operations here. I am now the God of this Place. I am the guardian of Merryland.” He explained. Eddie blinked, but, why not? Her local lake had a man-eating horse in it, why shouldn’t the amusement park have a vibrantly dressed guardian god?

“Ah, okay. And uh, no. It’s fine. He’s a problem I brought along. I should probably be apologizing to you.” Eddie cringed. That dipshit kelpie, he made trouble everywhere he went!

“No. You don’t understand. I was given this post by the Jade Emperor himself. It is my duty to protect this park and its patrons. Evil spirits are not allowed to exist here.” The god shook his head gravely. “I had not seen one like him before and he was able to get pass me. But not again! I assure you he will not be able to approach you here again, ever.”

“Are you the one who made him leave?”

“Your charm alerted me to his presence. After that expelled him I sealed the way back in.” The god made a chopping motion with his hands. “He’ll stay out!”

“Thank you,” Eddie sighed gratefully and the god seemed mollified by her true relief. She smiled, “and don’t worry about it. I think there’s only two of his kind in this whole state, probably, and we’re from a hundred miles away. And he’s a sneaky bastard besides.”

She opened her arms as if trying to embrace all the people before her. “If all this happiness and comfort is because of you….I mean even I was able to feel relaxed here, even while being hunted by a demon. You do a real bang-up job Mr. Chang.”

He followed her gaze with a small smile. He clasped his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels. Eddie lowered her hands and let this haven comfort her. For these few precious hours she, and everyone here, was the charge of a loving god.

“Um those rings I dropped on Haunted Swamp though, you may want to do something with them. They might be cursed or something.” Eddie remembered.

“True. Evil spirits are capable of such things. Thank you for telling me.” The god looked out towards the crowd. He frowned at the apparent thought of cursed objects being placed within an innocent person’s reach. Poor guy, probably keeping a place this big safe was a lot of work.

“Naoise is what’s called a fae, and they’re a pain in the ass for anyone who encounters them apparently. Don’t feel bad.” Eddie reached to pat the god’s hand without thinking. She was surprised to feel warm flesh beneath her palm instead of cold skin. Maybe it was just the kelpie, warden of death, who had such a killing touch. The god nodded and stood up.

“Joy is my votive, Miss, if you would be happy the rest of the time you are here, I will be fulfilled.” Eddie nodded and with that promise the god left. He stepped into the crowd and never stepped back out. Eddie blinked and drew her hand to her breast. To become a god after death, could human souls do such a thing? She mused over this conundrum, feeling a little comforted by the idea. After all if a soul could live on in such a form, why could it not defeat even immortality?

She let herself be joyful the rest of the day. The God of the Place had only promised protection within the confines of his shrine to happiness. So she would indulge herself fully and offer him that small amount of worship that would allow him to protect others like her. John Chang’s world was small, but it was his, and perhaps within it he could do anything he wished.

And perhaps, one day, she could do the same.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie speaks to Naoise's "brother", Dougal. He is ultimately a friendly, but specious, face. The lunch date with the two older Seele siblings ends in a declaration of war between Eddie and Regan. And in the end, Eddie saves the life of another. In doing so she leads both herself and her suitor down a road paved with thorns.

Eddie was not surprised to see a kelpie before her on the road as she walked along on Monday afternoon. With her head full of worried thoughts. She was hesitant to approach him of course, even knowing this was not Naoise. The green color of the tunic was the first alert this was not her suitor, and the differing facial characteristics confirmed it when she was close enough to see them. There was no clouded eye, a longer nose, and higher cheekbones. He was as dark as his brother, with the same sort of uncanny beauty. He smiled at her, an expression she had never seen on his brother’s face. Would Naoise be so becoming too if he could express a feeling of true ease?

She didn’t follow his comfort however. She had left the shank of raw beef by the river’s edge when the waterhorse would not come when summoned. She had intended to visit Nejem and MacGregor, to ask for help in summoning the spirit and perhaps some other things. Her journey back to her childhood home had left her full of questions and fear.

And resolve, an unshakable determination.

After a few seconds her feet began to move again and she approached the faerie. He was perched upon the wall that had once enclosed the church. The adobe had great gaps now, the bricks quarried by local farmers for their own walls and out-buildings. He was sitting upon a span long enough however to let him lay down if he so wished. His toes wiggled as she walked up and he seemed to be enjoying the March sunshine.

And as she came close enough to peer over the wall she noticed a very slim burro grazing on the fresh spring grasses. She paused at the animal’s coat, it was fine with an orange hue she had never really seen on a donkey before. She shrugged to see it freely roaming with no halter or brand. Plenty of people turned their animals out to pasture in the foothills. She turned her attention back to the immortal creature perched on the wall.

“Hello, are you Mr. Dougal?” she greeted as she stopped about four feet away from him.

“Indeed. Dougal of Loch Dubh, my ancient title, and perhaps now ‘of Via Verde’.” He bowed his head. “Of the Unseelie Court as well, but I suppose such a thing means nothing to you.”

Eddie’s mouth quirked at the latter part, because he was right. “I left a shank of beef on your river bank this morning, but you never came.”

“Och, lass, I appreciate the gesture, but you would need a better way to summon me. I was not in my river this morning, but here with MacGregor.”

“But you knew I was coming?” Eddie frowned.  
“Yusuf knew, because he tails you when you’re here.” Dougal shrugged at Eddie’s hiss of anger. The burro suddenly began to stand upright on its sprightly rear legs. She reared back as it began to assume the form of a man. She inhaled sharply as familiar flames began to eat away the equid form. So he too had an animal form. That had been no burro then but a desert ass.

“Waterhorse, that was uncalled for.” The jinn frowned as he leapt up to join Dougal on the wall. He was dressed in the same fine djebella with ornate boots. His eyes were narrowed to fine sparks.

“No, it’s uncalled for that you would spy on me without permission!” Eddie pointed angrily at Yusuf. “Nejem put you up to that, didn’t she? What right does she have to it?!”

The jinn frowned, “it is her duty to protect you.”

“Then why weren’t you there in Merryland?” Eddie seethed. When she could have actually used the protection!

“Because that place had a guardian, and he made it clear I was not to enter. It is not my purpose to war with other spirits.” Yusuf sighed. “I would not have expected him to fail in his task.”

“He didn’t-! He kept Naoise away after all that…” Eddie crossed her arms over her chest.

“And Eddie can take care of herself. Naoise told me she used that charm the wise woman gave her,” Dougal interceded. Eddie stepped back as Dougal leapt down off the wall. She was surprised to hear Naoise had told anyone about something that must have been a blow to his considerable pride.

The kelpie put his arm around her shoulder. When she looked up, he was all smiles, but not of the same easy confidence of before. It was a concealed snarl, especially as he looked up at the jinn.

“We’re going to have a little talk, Eddie and I, don’t follow us fire-spirit, I’ll know, and I’ll happily tear out your infernal guts.”

The jinn didn’t answer beyond an arrogant raise of the chin. He disappeared as Dougal pushed Eddie towards an open field that bordered an orange grove. Eddie glanced back at the church, wondering if the jinn was already reporting to his mistress what the kelpie had said. The exchange had confirmed one thing for her, Dougal had his own machinations and was not working for anyone else.

“So, lass, Naoise told me also he offered you a moonstone ring.” The kelpie began.

“Does he really open up to you that much?” Eddie asked. The faerie raised an eyebrow at her. “He told you about me rejecting him?”

Dougal let her go, taking a step into the trees before turning around to look her up and down. He frowned a little, apparently musing over the question.

“’That much’…no. He knows I support his current plan of action so he allows himself the indulgence of ranting at me when he’s enraged. It’s a habit he got into long ago and never broke. When we’re on opposite sides he never tells me anything.” Dougal rolled his eyes a little. “And he certainly does not divulge personal feelings or motivations, all I am left to do is to interpret them myself from what I know of him.”

Eddie stepped forward. “I tried to plead with him to let me give him something, or do something that would pay the debt but he wouldn’t even listen to me! He refuses me any other option but slavery or death. Isn’t there something, anything else I could offer him?”

“Your brother’s life perhaps, as that was the thing he spared you,” Dougal sighed. Eddie recoiled and then burst forward in her anger.

“Why is it he just wants misery and death?! What makes such a creature?!” Dougal looked at her for a long moment.

“The kelpie is born from the waters, the embodiment of its wrath. The waterhorse protects its waters in the way the waters cannot. Our kind only exist to fulfill our purpose. Indeed many of us do not even have names to differentiate ourselves from that task. We simply are the cold death that waits at the waterside.” Eddie swallowed at these words. Dougal was not bitter, he was simply stating fact. This was the sort of creature he and Naoise really were. It was not good, nor bad, it simply _was_.

“But then, why do you two have names?”

“From a long-standing familiarity with humans, because you see, once, I wished to be loved by one.” Dougal smiled, one not of regret, but of grief all the same.

“Is that how you were tricked into slavery?” Eddie asked softly.

“Oh, did Regan tell you that?” Dougal sighed.

“No, Naoise did. Regan told me about the bridles and using you to lure Naoise, but it was Naoise who said you were tricked.” Dougal looked surprised Naoise had told her this and shook his head.

“Not directly, Tam lived a thousand years before Warlock Willox and his kin. But that bond I had to him…made me far more sympathetic towards his kind, for I saw him live and die. And I was tricked because I thought Willox was the same sort of man my love was, because he invited me to a peace talk. I sat down with him and he enslaved me.” Dougal shrugged a little ruefully. “Really, all of this is my fault.”

“And Naoise told me he knew enough of humans to not trust them.” Eddie recalled with a sigh. This was all so intractable. She walked past Dougal, farther back into the grove, as if stepping away offered her any relief.

“What does the moonstone ring matter?” she asked the kelpie as she caressed a verdant infant orange. That fair would be this weekend, in spite of all the upset, life was going on.

“It would have allowed you to call down the moon, and follow that path back to the Earth.”

“Naoise said it may have helped me back.” Eddie remembered.

“Indeed, if perhaps you could have found a fae to show you how to do so, or maybe even figured out how to do so on your own.” Dougal mused as he leaned against a tree. He let the blossoms cling to his damp hair.

“Did you give Tam such a ring?”

“Nay, I never wanted him to leave me.” Dougal showed his fangs in a toothy grin. “When I took him to Faerie I meant it to be forever. But he found another way to escape me.”

“What happened between you and Tam?”

“I had to work very hard to earn his love. And one day he died in his sleep.” Dougal said this with no emotion attached, either he had seen the inevitability and had accepted it, or it had happened so long ago he had made peace with it. Eddie smiled a little sadly at the cost of immortality.

“Ah. So what does it matter then if Naoise tried to give me that ring?”

“Because it means he’s falling in love with you.” Dougal chortled like she should have been able to see it for herself. Eddie stared at the kelpie, wondering if she could follow his line of thought at all. But she had to laugh at the absurdity of he thought. Dougal only smiled graciously at the peal of laughter.

“Oh yeah us who scream and yell at each other whenever we see each other!” Eddie snorted.

“Because neither one will listen to the other,” Dougal said so readily it gave Eddie pause. She shook her head however.

“ _He_ won’t listen to _me_. I have asked him several times for some other way to resolve this-!” She argued.

“But he did, he offered the moonstone ring. He could have his revenge and you could have gone home.” Dougal countered and Eddie found herself furious with him, no, his brother!

“Well if he had just fucking _told_ me that!” She screamed so loudly a crow was startled into flight a few rows down. Dougal put his hands on her shoulders to soothe her. He urged her to lower her voice with a gentle shushing noise. Eddie swallowed and tried to calm her breathing, well, after all, hadn’t he meant for this conversation to remain private?

“I’m not saying he’s going about this in the right way. He’s not, he’s doing the terrible job I could have only expected from him. He’s far too proud to ever admit his motivations because it makes him vulnerable.” Dougal frowned. “Well even if I hadn’t set him down this path, it would have come to this anyway I imagine.”

He leaned down to peer into Eddie’s face. His hands slid down from her shoulders to gently grasp her arms.

“Don’t spare my brother’s feelings, lassie. He could still kill you for his pride. I only told you so you could better understand what was going on, not because I want Regan, the wise woman, or MacGregor to know. I would not revoke your right to defend yourself, but I would also not see him enslaved by any of them.”

“You know I have the bridle,” Eddie whispered. “What would you do if I was to use it on Naoise?”

“Nothing. As I would do nothing if you were to hand him over to any of those three. You are only a normal human woman, and the world of the spirits is too much for you. It is no crime to wish to live in peace,” Dougal let her go. “All I ask is my brother’s vulnerability not be exploited, as it was before.”

Eddie looked up at Dougal. She knew he was a kindred spirit, he only wished to protect someone he loved. Why couldn’t Naoise see her as the same?

“God, if it was going to put him in such a position, he should have chosen someone a little more worthy!” Eddie gasped with a forced laugh. Her gesture of covering her face however and looking away from the world spoke far more deeply of her true emotion.

“Humans love as fae cannot.” Dougal said softly. He raised his head and looked over hers, at something only he could see. “Fae see the depth of their devotion and begin to have the selfish desire to have a measure of that affection, as if it’s a bauble that can be handed to them. And when we learn it’s something engulfing, we get swallowed up, and we either devour, or are devoured by, what we desire.”

Dougal looked down at her with a nostalgic expression, “it was your love for your brother that sparked the flame, I am sure. And your refusal to give that warmth only made Naoise burn hotter. He doesn’t know what he wants as he struggles against it and his desire to punish you, and he no longer knows how to get either and be satisfied. That is very dangerous for you both.”

“So what you’re saying is, if I let him have me now, he won’t ever let me go,” Eddie sighed and Dougal nodded. Well hadn’t this just become a thousand times more complicated and even further from a resolution than before? She had to find a way to make Naoise talk to her, understand her, and to somehow resolve this without resorting to killing or slavery.

“Would you please tell me what happened between Naoise and Regan’s mother?” Dougal blinked in surprise at the request and stepped back. Eddie held her arms up in pleading.

“MacGregor won’t even talk about her, and Regan obviously hates Naoise. Please, isn’t that the root of most of this?”

“It goes much deeper than that lass,” Dougal frowned.

“But if I knew why Regan hates Naoise I can better understand why he gave me the bridle! And it has something to do with the seal I broke, doesn’t it?” Eddie argued. Dougal looked away and sighed.

“I think it has a great deal to him with him being a coward,” the kelpie muttered but he looked back at Eddie before continuing. “Lorna MacGregor was far from a coward however. Sometime after Naoise and I were introduced to our new abodes, some humans attempted to drain the lake and re-route my river. Of course neither one of us could stand for it. I turned to souring the crops, and Naoise turned to preying on the populace.”

Well that certainly explain the upsurge in drowning deaths decades ago, Eddie felt the blood drain out of her face.

“Lorna MacGregor was a wise woman and thus charged to making peace with us. I abated my destruction when she managed to stop her fellows from abusing my river. Naoise was not so easily appeased, he wanted it so his lake would never be threatened ever again. The only way the wise woman could do this was to obtain a powerful spell. Finding no local spirit that was powerful enough, she went into Faerie to find a sympathetic fae. She found him.”

Dougal’s expression became disgusted, “and he asked for her body as payment, and when she refused, he took it anyway.”

Eddie began to feel sick as Dougal continued. “So two things came from that union, the seal upon Lake Santos, and Regan MacGregor. Regan hates Naoise because while he didn’t sire him, he caused him to come into existence.”

“Oh god, this is all more terrible than I ever could imagine,” Eddie gasped and Dougal didn’t answer. She braced herself against a tree. How could she do this-?! She covered her mouth to keep in her bile. As she struggled to stay upright Dougal filled her sight, offering her a ring.

“Don’t cry lassie. Here, take this as a gift.” It was a silver ring, etched with the design of a horse. “This is the gift I gave to MacGregor’s bride on their wedding day. It did not give her Sight, but it protected her from fae illusions. You need that protection now.”

With a shaking hand Eddie offered her palm. Dougal dropped the ring down and she closed her fist around it.

“Heh, not going to ask me to marry you, are you?” she sniffed, only able to laugh after all of that. Dougal blinked and grinned.

“Lass I’m afraid I chase the young men because I could never compete against my brother in all his romantic subtlety,” And Eddie did laugh then. Dougal escorted her back towards the church.

“I didn’t know MacGregor was married,” Eddie mused as she looked down at the ring.

“Once, long ago, but I’m afraid that’s a story for another time.” And Eddie could only nod at that.

“And whatever happens between you and Naoise, I’ll forgive you for it. For I see you only wish to do what is right.” Dougal narrowed his eyes as the jinn reappeared on the wall as they pushed past the last tree. “It is not your fault if you were put into a position where that is impossible.”

Eddie felt her heart drop to hear that, even now not wanting to believe it was the truth, for it would excuse any sort of horrible action. She stepped away from Dougal and slipped on his ring. When she looked back he was gone, leaving behind only the scent of orange blossoms and damp earth. Yusuf remained on the wall, where he had sat for all that time. Eddie was unsure if this was because he was intimidated by the fae or if he had simply respected their privacy. He nodded as Eddie walked up to him.

“Well, come on then,” Eddie sighed. She turned back towards home. She saw no point in speaking to Nejem or MacGregor now that she had the answers she wanted, and wanted no more.

“You’re not angry?” he asked, following behind her with no footstep.

“I am, I am being pulled in about three directions right now,” Eddie glowered at the dirt. “Everyone wants their own fucking thing. The only one who wants about the same as me is Dougal, and he can’t help me much because he does.”

She looked back and sighed. “So maybe having you around is not as much as a bother as I thought. Though I wish I could just be asked about this sort of stuff. I’m beginning to think because I’m a ‘normal human woman’ everyone is making excuses for me.”

Yusuf didn’t answer so she was right, she frowned as she looked forward.

“And you don’t peek at me when I’m in the bath or anything, right?”

“I only go to the line of your property, your seals work sufficiently to keep the kelpie away so I don’t need to encroach on that space.” He answered.

“Well, come in then, and have some coffee and cake with me.” Eddie smiled back at Yusuf. “Why should we be strangers?”

The jinn blinked, but accepted her invitation.

She found out he had hooved feet when he asked to be excused for possibly scuffing the wooden floor of the hallway. It was why he always wore boots. Apparently jinn were not allowed to take fully human forms by Allah as their human guises were not created by him. His legs were normal until just below the ankle, where the dainty hooves of the ass appeared. She wondered if this as not also why the kelpie always looked damp when he was human or horse.

As it turned out the fire spirit had a fondness for two things; cats and _Gilligan’s Island_. He insisted Mindy’s Blackie be allowed in to make several circuits of the backhouse and was gleeful to watch a marathon of the old sitcom. Eddie was afraid to play armchair psychologist on why a show about a group of castaways appealed to an indentured servant.

He stayed until Matthew came home in the evening and handed her the invitation to the luncheon on Tuesday. She made sure to show it to the jinn before he left. Regan was not to be trusted.

Matthew commented on all her new friends lately and Eddie only shrugged. It was a good thing one could hear Matthew’s car coming and he hadn’t seen the hooves. The afternoon had made her much more comfortable with the idea of Yusuf guarding her. Perhaps Nejem had always known how charming her jinn was.

“So time to meet the in-laws, eh?” Eddie waved the invite at her brother. Really who wasted paper on this sort of thing? “You know we already met.”

“Briefly.” Matthew was kind enough to not tell the truth she had been falling-down drunk at the time. “And it’s just Kelly’s older brother.”

“Ah, well,” Eddie hid her new ring under one hand. She would later tell Matthew it had been a thrift-shop find, but not now, not so soon.

“I think we’ll have plenty to talk about.” She sighed.

 

 

On Tuesday morning there was a gentle but persistent rain that dampened the countryside. The moisture remained even to the late afternoon as the skies remained overcast. With the earth damp and the smell of rain heavy on the air, Eddie involuntarily kept Naoise in her mind all day. He shadowed her thoughts as she watched the rain coat the glass of the bus on the way to school, and she recalled his touch as she felt the drops touch her face and neck as she walked between her classes.

He hadn’t approached her since his last marriage proposal. She hadn’t ever had anyone in love with her before, and she had never been in love herself. Though she had had plenty of romances before. Some had ended badly, some had ended well, some had ended with them staying friends, and sometimes they had never spoken to one another ever again. They had all been fleeting things, with no more substance than the initial attraction that had started it.

She rebelled against the idea of using Naoise’s feelings for her against him. It was exactly what Dougal didn’t want to happen to his brother and Eddie could understand his feelings. The fact remained however Eddie didn’t reciprocate at all, and could never be expected to if Naoise kept approaching her as he was now. She knew this would all become even more twisted if she was cruel to Naoise when he, in his view, was being merciful to her.

Dougal had absolved her of guilt, but Eddie was not so forgiving to herself.

As the day moved on however and the rain ceased, she pretended she was just another young woman anxious about meeting potential future in-laws. She slid stockings over freshly shaved legs. She shivered at the cold air licking her damp and exposed neck as she piled her hair on her head. The iron charm in her purse were simply an eccentric decoration though she carefully positioned it so it was readily available.

Eddie drove as Matthew seemed to be suffering from his own set of nerves as he kept fiddling with his jacket and shirt. Eddie had a thought if he had been allowed on the road in his current state he would have been all over it like a drunk.

Eddie was relieved when she was asked to stop before a modest cottage a few hundred feet down a small street off the main highway of Orangeblossom. She supposed she shouldn't have expected anything too ostentatious for a fledgling doctor living by herself. There was a Bentley parked in the driveway. Regan must have driven himself.

"Matthew!" The pleased cry startled Eddie. However she wasn't the target of the middle Dunbar child's lunge. She sidestepped as her brother was enveloped in the embrace of a plump, black haired woman. Eddie idly chewed a finger as they kissed briefly, and wondered if Katharine the Great would approve of her stepdaughter being so affectionate. She stiffened when those vibrant green eyes were turned on her.

"And Eddie, hello. How are you?" Kelly asked; a little taller and far more radiant in a beige cashmere coat over a black dress than Eddie in her blue sundress.

"Oh, very well thanks," Eddie put a hand out to be shook and instead had her cheek pecked. She blushed but was not bold enough to return the gesture and could only smile shyly.

"And here is my brother, Regan," She held her hand out to indicate the man. Eddie awkwardly waved at Regan, deciding to let him take the lead in the illusion they had not spoken at length before. He nodded at her and stepped forward.

"The Moreno siblings, so nice to see both of you again," He shook Matthew's hand and Eddie blushed a second time as he kissed her hand. Regan was a far better actor than she.

"’Lo," she muttered. She stepped back to let Matthew do the talking.

"It's good to see you Regan, I'm glad to hear you've been doing very well lately." Matthew grinned. The older Seele inclined his head.

"Thank you and I'm certain the same has been true for you. Well I am sure of it as you're dating my sister," he said with a small laugh and Kelly looked pleased.

"So where are we goin’ to eat?" Matthew asked, clapping his hands together.

"There is a Mexican restaurant in Los Olivos I would like to try Matthew, Kelly told me you and Eddie speak Spanish, I'm sure you could tell us all what we're eating," Regan chortled. As Matthew beamed Eddie decided to ignore the presumptuousness and pretentiousness even. What SoCal native wasn’t familiar with a Mexican restaurant offerings? It was a small faux pas, and true even if it could have possibly not been. Yet she had been disturbed by Regan’s choice of words before and the impression lingered in her mind.

She found herself forced to sit in the front passenger seat next to Regan as the lovers took the backseat. She swallowed but told herself she could go an entire three hours or so without making an ass of herself. She tried to smile nicely at him and hoped she wasn't showing too much teeth. He smiled politely back, but kept his lips closed.

"Kelly, what was the name?" Regan asked as he glanced back.

"El Loro, it's on the intersection of Glen and 6th avenue," she informed him. Eddie looked away as his gaze settled back on the road, fiddling with the hem of her dress that brushed her knees. She found enough subjects however to keep making small talk.

The subjects were nothing too personal, and always superficial. However even despite the fact Regan was also trying to make an effort to make polite conversation Eddie felt uneasy. She knew eventually he was going to ask her about Naoise. The bridle was carefully hidden in her bra as the neck line of her dress didn’t allow a chain to be concealed and she didn’t dare to not have it. How was it so easy for him to pretend nothing was wrong? When Eddie felt certain she had been behaving so strangely Matthew thought she was on the sauce again? Regan was a composed enigma and Eddie was a chaotic façade. It made her feel fragile and weak.

The restaurant proved to be in the Spanish style with a dining room built around a tropical garden. True to its name it featured a shrieking parrot in a cage by the cash register. It purred when Eddie came near and screamed when she was seated far away. It was the first animal in a while to like her on sight. It made her feel a bit more confident as again Regan became her de facto date as Matthew and Kelly seemed to be more or less glued together.

"It is regretful my youngest sister couldn't join us but Gwen is still at school." Regan said after they had placed their orders.

"Oh, yeah, isn't she a senior?" Matthew asked as he dipped a chip in the salsa.

"Yes, she's seventeen now, she'll be eighteen in May," Kelly told him.

"I do believe she was looking forward to meeting both of you but I suppose that must wait until the fair," Regan said, ignoring the chips and salsa completely. Eddie tried to not give him a flat look at the utter lie. She had met the girl only once but she doubted Gwen had forgiven her insult to her deceased stepfather. Not that she blamed her.

“Fair?” Matthew asked in surprise.

“Yes, I’ll be funding the dance on the last day,” Regan smiled at his sister. “Kelly convinced me it was a worthy endeavor.”

Just like when his father had funded that charity dinner, for that had also been at Kelly’s urging. Everyone else knew the family of the founder of Los Olivos was totally unconcerned about this backwater community. Eddie drank her water, well at least this time she wouldn’t be drunk.

But then she nearly choked on the idea of Katharine the Great and her daughter being there. Oh god what if Naoise came too, demanding a dance with his bare feet and sopping hair? She was going to have to seal that hall!

“You okay?” Kelly asked as Eddie cleared her throat. She could only nod as she covered her mouth with a napkin.

"I’m fine, thank you," she said quietly after her throat had cleared. She happily let the conversation turn away from her. As she picked at her burrito she was struck by the idea how humiliated she would feel if anyone could read her personal thoughts at that moment. They were filled with the color of Regan's eyes and the width of his shoulders. Why? She couldn’t trace her line of thought as much as it clouded her mind. By the end of the meal she had eased into the feeling of infatuation.

After the check had been paid, by Regan of course, Kelly proposed they walk about downtown as it was a historical district. Once again Eddie was paired with Regan, though she almost felt like she should run after Matthew and plead for his protection. The next second however, as Regan took her arm like a true gentleman would, she forgot all her anxiety. She forgot about Naoise and Jai. She forgot about everything really save the man besides her.

"How are you?” the dreaded moment was at hand, yet she felt perfectly comfortable.

“I’m…okay. Naoise bothered me when I was at Merryland, but I managed to get away from him. He’s even…” Eddie felt a red wave come up in her mind, a scream from her rational self to not divulge Naoise’s vulnerability. She shuddered and put a hand to her forehead at the feeling of nausea rising in her breast. Regan took her hand in his and looked at the silver ring on her right ring-finger.

“Not one of his?” Regan smirked.

“Dougal gave me it,” as soon as she said it she regretted admitting it to him.

“Faerie gifts always come with a heavy price you know,” Eddie drew her hand out of Regan’s at the warning.

“I know.” She sighed. “He just gave me it to make me feel more secure…”

“To make you believe you can fend off using the bridle for a while longer.” Regan chuckled. He put a hand on her hip and brought her closer to him. Eddie wondered more that there was no one else around to witness the presumptuous touch than the gesture itself. Her mind felt befuddled, like she was swimming against a very strong current.

“I…can’t…” she struggled to give any resistance.

“But if you don’t you’ll find yourself married,” Regan laughed.

"Married?" she muttered, frowning a little at the horrid word.

“Yes. Or perhaps with your brother dead,” Eddie flinched at the instant thought of Matthew’s throat being torn out.

“No, no!” She gasped.

“Use the bridle, I’ll take over Naoise for you. You can leave Orangeblossom, and forget all of this ever happened. You can have your life back.” Regan soothed.

"I don't want…” She shivered and chased after a thought, trying to hold on to it. She remembered Matthew holding Kelly’s hand and his gentle smile at her. "But he loves Kelly…Mom's ring…"

"I have someone better for Kelly, and you can keep Matthew to yourself. You can take him away from all this danger. We'll all be happy, don't you see?" Regan insisted, curling his fingers in Eddie's hair. “If you would just bridle the kelpie.”

"Better?" She moved away from his hand. Who was better than Matthew? Who had sacrificed so much and dealt with so much yet still shone like the sun in the darkness of life? She stepped back with a gasp. _If Matthew loves any woman, she is the luckiest on Earth!_ No one man would ever be more dedicated to her happiness!

How could he even think Matthew was not the most perfect suitor for his sister?

"Eddie," Regan said sternly stepping towards her again.

"Eddie!" Matthew appeared at the end of the alley. She turned and walked towards him with an unsteady stride. She put her hands on her face, she felt like she had been drowning. Her lungs were on fire and her head was muddled.

"You sick?" Matthew asked worriedly as he opened his arms for her to lean against him.

"I…I guess." She frowned and glanced over her shoulder at Regan who was looking on with a detached, almost disgusted expression. What had he been trying to do to her, this half-fae man? Something about giving Naoise to him, and the implication Matthew wasn’t good enough for his sister. She made the decision right at that moment to never give the kelpie to him!

Even if it killed her.

"Heh, must have been lunch." She suggested and stepped back to let Kelly reclaim Matthew's arm. Matthew gave Regan a mild look of consternation however, obviously wondering why the man had pulled his sister into an alley. The man did not meet his eyes however, and Eddie followed behind the lead pair. She stayed far away from Regan for the rest of the afternoon.

On the way home Matthew did ask her what she had been doing with Regan. Eddie rubbed her face miserably, not concerned at all with how it smeared her mascara.

"He just wanted to speak to me privately," she said lamely, looking at the damp countryside. Something in her tone made Matthew not press her further, perhaps they were both in the same habit of not wanting to see the skeletons in the closet. Matthew probably already suspected that Regan disapproved of him, no matter how friendly the other man was to him.

Eddie in her turn tried to digest the meaning of Regan’s actions. What had happened had felt like more than mere guile. What had he been offering her in exchange for the waterhorse? Apparently an erase of memories. No, that had only come if she left Orangeblossom too. What would he do if she endeavored to stay there?

Had she made an enemy just now? No, Regan had made an enemy of _her_.

She moved the ring on her finger. Had Yusuf protected her just now? She could hardly ask him in front of Matthew but she suspected the jinn must be around somewhere. Or was he not allowed to confront MacGregor’s nephew? Had Eddie simply not wanted Regan’s offer badly enough to be charmed by it?

She changed into jeans and boots after they had come home. Eddie excused herself for the rest of the afternoon with the excuse she was going for a walk. She still felt sick, but not in any physical way. She felt like her soul had been eviscerated. Regan knew about her jealousy towards Kelly. Was that an expectation he had merely exploited? Or was she such an open book that anyone could read the darker parts?

The open, burgeoning fields of her aunt unrolled before her like a shimmering carpet and she tried to disappear among the verdant stalks. Black-eyed-Susans waved to her as she passed. Her idle roaming was interrupted by an old oak tree that rose from the side of a gentle slope. She leaned against the gnarled wood, and fancied she could count its heart beats as the wind stirred its branches.

She raised her head, ready to call the jinn once she was certain no one else was nearby. As she pushed away from the tree however something black leapt out of the grass. She screamed in pain as a lancing hotness erupted across the fingers of her right hand. She reeled back with her hand against her breast, bloodied. A small, black dog raced away from her, a glimmer of something in its mouth.

“It has my ring!” Eddie realized. At that moment Yusuf appeared beside her.

“Are you badly hurt?”

“No, no, just a few scratches,” she looked down at where the poodle’s teeth had torn across her fingers. She began to run after the thief however. “Damn it that’s Dougal’s ring!”

Yusuf stepped after her but in a few seconds he disappeared from sight. Eddie was sure he was still pursuing the thief and could only hope he still had sight of the dog as she had long since lost it in the tall grasses. She stopped at the edge of where the field glided into the foothills. Here more oak trees stood, a copse meant to serve as a wind-break and shade for the cattle when they were on this range. She tried to listen for a give-away rustle or a small glimpse of black, but she was all alone once again. She bowed her head, trying to fathom why a poodle would want a faerie ring.

And she had a feeling Regan had something to do with this.

In her moment of upset, Naoise in his human form confronted her again. With the knowledge he was no longer seeking to kill her he was nothing but another frustration. She tried to ignore him calling her name, far too distracted to contemplate the danger in doing so. Nevertheless she could not deny him when he grabbed her left wrist and dropped something cool onto her palm.

"See? I have found you a ring," he said as she stared at the garnet shinning at her in the low sun. She gave a low cry.

"Mom's ring! How-"and she remembered it was _his_ lake it had been lost in. As she gawked at the lost treasure, Naoise was staring at her.

"Something is wrong." He decided carefully. He grasped her right hand and looked at her bloodied fingers. “Who injured you?”

"Everything is wrong when you're around," Eddie said bitterly, looking away. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. Eddie gasped as her pained look reflected in his dark eyes like a distant mirror. One eye was endlessly clear, the other fogged at the center where her knife had lanced through. She swallowed and dared to reach up to touch his cheek. _So cold, why are you always so cold?_

"Hey, Naoise…would you still want me, if I became someone else?" she asked softly. He blinked as her fingers dove into the waves of his hair, but he did not let her go, drinking in her expression. Eddie felt like she was on the verge of hysterics, like Regan had showed her what she could become; a petty and selfish person who was not concerned at all with the happiness of others. The person she had once been. He had tempted her for she had felt that horrid second of desire.

"That is a nonsensical question; you are yourself, you cannot become something else." He snorted and Eddie gave a small sound of opposition as her hand wrapped around his wrist in retaliation. Naoise ignored her consternation however, apparently already tired of philosophical treatises.

"Someone did something to you, I won't have it."

"Eh?" Eddie tensed from her formerly limpid position, her feet re-touching Earth after being picked up by a fae. Naoise pulled her towards the small pool that was sheltered by the oak trees. Eddie let herself be led as she fiercely gripped her mother’s ring. Had the kelpie forgotten about it in his anger at seeing her wounded? He dipped a hand into the pool and with damp fingers he touched her scratches. She shivered at the cold feeling that crept into her veins, but when he moved his fingers away the scratches and pain were gone. All that was left was the smeared blood on her skin. She gave a low cry of wonder.

“You-! Thank you! I didn’t think you could do that!” She gasped.

“I can do many things.” He smirked. “But why were you wounded?”

“Would you believe a small black dog stole a ring off my hand?” Eddie asked dryly.

“Small black dog?” Naoise repeated with a snort. “Regan’s familiar.”

“What?”

“Regan keeps as a servant a demon in the form of a small black dog,” Naoise clarified and Eddie felt her temper rise.

“That son of a _bitch_!” she seethed. “What does he want my ring for?!”

Naoise glanced at her and slid his cold fingers across her neck. Eddie cringed, if he wanted to flirt with her he was going to have to learn that every time he touched her it felt like death crawling over her.

“I can’t say I know,” the kelpie said. “But as you have accepted my ring I’ll get that one back for you, and whatever else you may want.”

“Accept?” she repeated in horror. She looked down at the garnet ring in her palm, her holding onto the ring must be what he meant.

“Oh no! This is my mother’s ring! You _stole_ it from us! I am merely taking it back.” Eddie glowered. Naoise glared right back at her.

“Your brother lost it in my lake, it is rightfully mine.”

“Bullshit! You came and offered me a ring that you know I can’t give back! I am not accepting _shit_!” She sneered. He took a step towards her and she took a step back. She held the ring tightly to her breast. She knew she should throw it back in his face. She knew that ultimately no piece of jewelry was worth her life, whoever it had once belonged to. She knew she shouldn’t be so stubborn about this!

But Matthew wanted it, perhaps even needed it to summon his courage. This ring could only belong to the woman he would marry and without it he may never profess his love. He wouldn’t be able to afford a new ring for years. For this ring he had almost died. This ring would belong to Kelly Seele!

“It matters not which ring it is, so long as you do not give it back, you have accepted it.” Naoise informed her coldly and grasped her arm. Eddie struggled to break away. She remembered she had left the iron charm in her purse at home, she had been so distracted in her upset before she had forgotten it. Why had she never sealed these trees?! She had sealed all the ten acres around the homes and barns but had never gone so far as to seal the entire ranges. How had she become so careless? Regan had upset her and now she was going to be enslaved because of it!

She planted her feet and pushed against the kelpie with her free arm. It was no use, he pulled hard enough to dislocate her shoulder and she cried in pain. His response to that was to try to grab her other hand to give himself more leverage. As they struggled Eddie tried to shove her elbow into his nose, but nothing broke the hold he had on her. She reached for the bridle around her neck but he grasped her wrist before she could get a hold on it. He saw the glimmer of gold and snarled.

“And that is how I would be rewarded for mercy.”

“As you drag me to Faerie totally against my will!” Eddie screamed.

“Drop the ring then!” he challenged her as he positioned himself behind her so he could use his arm to push against her upper back. Eddie reared back, planting her feet, his intent was horrifyingly obvious as they faced the pool. She closed her eyes, he was too strong, and she could feel her feet lifting. She was going to be abducted.

“Jai, Jai help me please!” she cried. She had promised to not be afraid, and she could only raise her hope as Jai appeared on Isolde on the far side of the pool. The prince loped around on his white horse, this time armed with a sword. Naoise had obviously intended to hold onto his prey for as long as he could, but when he saw the prince’s sword gleaming in the sunlight he pushed her away from him.

Eddie hit the ground and when she looked up the kelpie had disappeared. Jai pulled up his mount and started to say something to her. The next second Jai was knocked from Isolde’s back. He landed with his sword drawn and swung it in a wide arc.

“Run, Eddie!” He cried as he kept swinging the sword wildly while trying to stand up and fight an invisible enemy. Isolde guarded his back, ears pressed down, mouth open, proving she was not an ordinary horse as Eddie suspected she must not be. They seemed to, for a moment, make an impenetrable stance. Eddie was not going to leave her prince however.

Yusuf appeared by her side, either drawn back because he had finally lost track of the dog or he had sensed the disturbance. He stared at the prince making a desperate stand against the kelpie with his glowing eyes and his expression was one of frustration.

“Yusuf!” Eddie gasped and reached out to grab at the jinn’s djebella to refocus his attention on her. As she did Jai and Isolde were pushed apart. Isolde was thrown onto her side and Jai was thrown forward. The prince flew a few feet into the air, as if he had been picked up and thrown. He forced another roll onto his clumsy landing and came to a stop on his back so he could raise his sword again, protecting his vital organs.

“We have to help him!” Eddie cried as Jai swung his sword and Isolde tried to lope around him and guard his back again. She was stopped in her maneuver by being thrown upwards this time. Her head tilted over her back and she rolled painfully in a grotesque somersault to land in a wretched pile on the ground.

“Isolde!” Jai cried and in his moment of panic about his steed he was attacked from behind. He screamed as he turned sharply and suffered a glancing blow from the kelpie’s teeth and they tore a wide wound opened across the back of his shoulder. Eddie looked away at this point.

“I am not allowed to kill anyone,” Yusuf informed her.

“That’s fine I don’t want you to kill anyone!” Eddie pointed at the pool. “Jai needs Naoise to be visible! We need to coat the kelpie with mud, that’s what I did last time to help him!”

“I cannot,” Yusuf sighed.

“Why can’t-!” Isolde rose with a scream and she charged into the battle. Jai was flagging, desperately swinging his sword around but also losing a large amount of blood in doing so. Isolde began to pivot around her master and apparently managed to body-slam the kelpie. He suddenly reappeared in equine form, on his side, which Isolde tried to pin. As he tried to move back from her hooves Eddie started throwing mud at him. He gave her an absolute look of death as one clod hit his face. He tried to disappear again, but the mud didn’t allow him full invisibility.

As she took more shots at him she realized his form was neither horse nor human, it seemed to be some sort of grotesque mixture of both. His head was long and fanged, his neck was a thin arch of tangled hair and water weeds, and his body was deformed with bizarre angles that belonged to neither human nor horse. She couldn’t get a complete picture of this form as it was only visible in patched outlines, but either this was a third monstrous form, or his true form.

He lunged at Isolde again and caught her chest between her striking front legs. He used the force of his jaws to turn her over and pin her but once she was subdued he let her go. He turned his bloodstained jaws on the prince with fatal intent however. He lunged at his true opponent with wide jaws. Jai raised his sword.

Eddie broke the chain the bridle rested on and rushed into battle. She was only going to get one chance. Yusuf yelled at her but she didn’t even hear him. Jai would catch the kelpie in the shoulder, but Naoise’s jaws would close around his throat unless there was something to stop him. Eddie shook her hand and the bridle grew to proper size.

The blade sank into Naoise’s shoulder, and his jaws stopped an inch from Jai’s neck. Eddie used all the power in her body to pull back the killing blow. The kelpie had been bridled, and he had not even felt the bit until it was holding him back.

“Stop!” Eddie gasped, and it all ended.

 

 

Jai knew he should feel grateful his life had been saved. He had never intended to die this day, but when the kelpie’s jaws had been closing down he had been prepared to make that sacrifice. Regan may have been able to resuscitate him even then, but even if he couldn’t have, he would have simply made a replacement. It was not the role of prince itself he cherished as much as he had been able to fill that role, however briefly. And princes occasionally died to protect their ladies.

He had meant for Eddie to run away, that even if he had died she would have been saved. He had never intended for her to save him as that was not the way these things were supposed to work. It was not that he disliked the idea he may have owed her something, for he knew she would never ask anything of him. But, perhaps, in the end, that was now the problem.

He cringed as the kelpie laid his hands on his shoulder, soaked in water and resentment. The beast glowered down at him with his inhuman eyes, eyes that reflected the world around and never what was below, just like the water’s surface. Jai had the unkind thought this was because there was nothing below.

The waterhorse had been ordered to heal him by his new mistress. The bridle manifested as a fine golden chain around his neck. The faerie’s wound was already healing for the sword had only been silver, nothing that could truly pierce a kelpie’s hide. Jai had been given that sword because he could never wield the blade that could truly kill this demon. Only true brutality, which Jai did not have by definition, could slay this monster.

Perhaps the only reason the kelpie’s right eye had not fully healed yet was because of his preoccupation with the one who had pierced it.

Eddie was curled up by the foot of an oak tree, Isolde standing over her as she still dribbled blood from her bite wound. She would be healed next, but until he was better she stood in his place. And what would he do when he could take his place by Eddie’s side?

What could he offer her now? When she had something he now wanted? He had no right to even give himself to her. Regan meant him for his younger sister. A perfect prince for his beloved sibling. Regan had no use for Jai however if he was not Kelly’s prince, and if he could not be a prince, he would cease to be.

And he could never be Eddie’s prince now. Though she was the only other person who had ever valued his life save his first princess. Now that he wanted her to be his princess.

“Yusuf.” Eddie addressed the accursed jinn as the creature began to move away from the tree she sheltered under. The fire spirit glanced back at her. “Where are you going?”

“To my mistress.” He answered.

“To tell her what happened?” She asked. Naoise moved away with one last icy purge under Jai’s skin. He cringed at the cold touch, but his nausea and dizziness was relieved. He looked up in time to see the jinn turn towards Eddie.

“Of course.” Eddie stood up.

“Not until you tell me why you couldn’t help me.” Eddie groused and glanced at Naoise. The kelpie paused in his movement towards Isolde.

“You refused. Did you really mean for Jai to be killed? If you would do something like that-!” Her fists knotted as her eyes filled with tears. Jai felt his heart shudder to see her concern about him.

“I was on orders to see you abducted,” Yusuf confessed and Eddie gave a pained gasp. The jinn glanced at Jai. “But I would not see one being slay another. Though this is what my mistress most wanted prevented, I allowed you to bridle the kelpie rather than see the prince killed.”

Jai stood up and gave a small snort. So, that was what MacGregor had wanted then. Or the wise woman, or both, it didn’t matter. He closed his eyes. He and Eddie really were alike, they were just pawns to be tossed back and forth in this family feud. Perhaps that was why he felt connected to her.

He opened his eyes and glanced at the kelpie, currently preoccupied with Isolde. Wasn’t he also a most impressive piece?

“Okay.” Eddie swallowed painfully. “Go to your mistress then. But I can already tell you I won’t be giving them Naoise or asking for their help in any other matter.”

Yusuf nodded and he was gone, so like when fae removed their glamour. Jai looked at Naoise whose hands were laid on Isolde’s wound. For a second he saw a pained expression on the waterhorse’s face but as he dropped it down it was lost. Isolde, for her part, looked away from him.

Isolde, the prince’s mount who could only be ridden by someone she saw as worthy. He’d had to woo her like any other lady to gain her trust and respect. Yet at her expression he began to wonder if he should not have questioned why the enchanter had such a fine mount given what he knew of Regan’s bloodline. At the time he had taken her acceptance as a sign he was a true prince.

Perhaps there was much he should have questioned.

“Jai.” Eddie addressed him as he walked up to her. “Do you have your phone on you?”

He blinked, did she not have hers? Did she need to make a call? He took his out of his pocket and she gently plucked it from him. He began to tense as she started to scroll through his contact list.

“What are you…?” She found a number and dialed it. She held up a finger as it apparently rang.

“No this is _Eddie_ ,” she sneered at the person on the other line. “Where do you get off stealing my ring?!”

Oh god she had used his phone to call Regan! Jai put his hands up in distress.

“Eddie this isn’t-!” But she wasn’t even looking at him. She was glowering at the ground as she listened to Regan speak.

“A little birdy told me!” She snapped. “Look-! You just stay out of my life, all right?!”

A pause and Eddie’s expression grew even darker. “That is _none_ of your business and I mean it!”  
She gave an irritated huff at his response and she shoved the phone at Jai. “He wants to talk to _you_.”

Jai took the phone and glanced at Regan’s name on the screen. He stepped back and answered.

“Well, I’m guessing the kelpie is bridled then.” Regan said drolly.

“Yes.” Jai took another step back.

“And she hates me now. Well! I guess it’ll all be up to you then. Don’t go home tonight, come back to Los Olivos.”

“Yes.” Jai answered and he couldn’t even muster a sigh.

“And stay away from MacGregor and the wise woman. I am sure it was they who plied Dougal to give Eddie that ring that breaks illusions. From here on out they’re enemies, all right?” Jai gripped the phone tighter as he thought of how close he had come to being unmasked.

“I will do that,” he promised. And with that Regan hung up on him. He dropped his arm and exhaled as a great and painful weight settled on him, and one he had never felt before.

He was made in man’s own image, but if only he had not also been made to feel all a man could.

“I’m sorry if I got you into trouble with Regan.” Eddie said softly, she had retreated to lean against the tree once again. Her infernal servant was on the other side of the trunk, staring off towards the pool.

“Of course not.” Jai smiled, the same one Regan had taught him to always wear. “Regan knows what he did. And besides, you saved my life today. We are both grateful.”

Eddie blinked in apparent surprise. That he felt that way? Or that Regan cared about him? If she only knew any master craftsman would weep to see his masterpiece destroyed.

“I guess I couldn’t ask you to get that ring back,” Eddie frowned and Jai felt himself pale. He looked away.

“I am….in no position too,” he sighed. Eddie looked at him for a moment and he was afraid to look at her, afraid to see if she was looking at him in disgust.

“I understand.” Jai gasped and Eddie smiled at him, wanly but bravely. “Whatever Regan has on you….you can’t disobey him.”

She walked up to him and her expression became pained. She gently ran her fingers across his cheek, yearning and regretful.

“I’m afraid though, you can’t be my prince anymore.” Jai felt his heart drop, though he had already realized this. To hear it aloud however gave it a crushing finality however. He had failed again. The kelpie peered at him from behind the tree and smirked. Jai ignored him for the curl of Eddie’s fingers against his skin.

“But, let’s remain friends then.”

“Even now, you want to…?” He was surprised. She nodded in confirmation even as she took her hand away.

“You’re a good guy Jai, and there aren’t enough people in the world like you.” She smiled and stepped back. He didn’t dare to step after her, didn’t dare to believe this was true.

“And we need to go now, him and I,” she gestured at Naoise who had hidden himself again. “I don’t really want to talk to MacGregor or Nejem and I’m sure they’re hot-footing it over here now.”

“I can’t leave you with him!” Jai gasped.

“And what would you do? Baby-sit me all the time?” Eddie frowned and shook her head. She poked his nose with an index finger. “Not my prince, remember? Be my friend, hold me when I want to cry, come over and watch movies with me when we need a stress-relief. But him…I’ll handle on my own.”

Jai knew he couldn’t argue against this. Regan would insist he somehow cajole Eddie into handing over the kelpie, and in that moment of seeing the monster smirk at him again, he vowed to do just this. For Eddie’s own safety! He met the beast’s eyes in a hard stare. He may have not been defeated today, but Jai would see that he could never hurt Eddie ever again.

“Good-bye,” she told him and their eyes met again. Jai waved over Isolde but didn’t look away from his friend.

“Be careful,” was all he could plead. Eddie nodded and called over her slave. Jai mounted so he didn’t need to meet the kelpie’s eyes again. From atop Isolde he watched them disappear into the grasses. His hands clenched the reigns, but he gave Isolde no command to move. With the sun dying on the horizon the entire earth seemed to be opening up to swallow him.

He was no longer a prince to her, just a mortal man, when he had never been anything of the such. What could he do now? No more than her. And this thought haunted him into the falling night.

 

 

And all through the tumult she had managed to hang onto her mother’s ring.

She at last slipped the ring into her pants pocket, but the impression remained torn into her palm for hours to come. The kelpie said nothing to her as he sullenly followed behind her, yet she had felt that momentary tug when she had given the command. He had tried to see if he could break free and found himself bound still. She sighed and raised her head, she kept her eyes on the field ahead.

“This is your own fault,” she told him resolutely. “I tried and tried to negotiate some other way to resolve all this but you wouldn’t budge! It’s tit for fucking tat.”

“Already you deny your responsibility?” She turned on him with a glower that he matched. He raised his chin. “You’ll come to the same disaster as the MacGregors, because they also saw themselves as stewards of a monster, beyond reproach or guilt.”

“I don’t think I’m better than anyone!” Eddie snapped. “God, I know this was a fucked-up thing to do! What I’m saying is you gave me no other choice and now I’m in a shitty position because of you.”

“Worse than mine?” he asked snidely.

“Maybe! As you seem to have no conscience whatsoever!” She retorted and clenched her fists.

Naoise looked as if he wanted to say something to that but he sharply turned away. Eddie inhaled, wondering if perhaps she had gone too far. Yet what else could she say about something that apparently killed freely and without a second thought? She exhaled, no that was not true. Nobody had ever given any indication Naoise killed only to kill. Both MacGregor and Regan had only mentioned times when Naoise had apparently felt threatened as times when he killed. Dougal had implied their function was death itself, a horrid thing, but only because she was a creature of life.

What she had summarized from speaking to both Dougal and Naoise was that they both acted on a moral system that was inhuman. It valued some things she did but it also disvalued things she didn’t, like the sanctity of human life. It was frustrating, but for the first time she realized by his expression Naoise felt just as frustrated by her and her conflicting mortal morality.

She was human, and he was fae, and she had not a trace of fae blood to bridge the gap.

“You gave me no other choice,” she said softly. She just wanted him to understand her position a little.

“You had plenty of choices.” He raised his head. “You could have chosen to be my bride, you could have let the prince die for you.”

“Those choices were impossible for me!” She cried. “We could have agreed to something else! I could have given you years of my life or even a fuck if that’s what you wanted! If you had just let me ask you….”

“Those choices would have been as impossible for me as the choices I gave you were for you,” he narrowed his eyes and Eddie choked on her outrage. “I told you what would have been acceptable to me many times and you would not yield.”

“Why are you so unreasonable?!” Eddie burst out as her hands raised and contorted in a yearning gesture to wring his neck!

“You are the unreasonable one.” Naoise snorted.

“Arguing with a spirit is as good as pissing into the ocean, child,” Nejem’s voice wedged itself between them and separated them. Eddie turned to see MacGregor standing by her side and Nejem perched on the sheepish Yusuf’s back. He let his mistress down gently as she finished her thought. “Human logic doesn’t follow that of spirits. You need to find a middle ground.”

Eddie ran a hand through her hair. She had not wanted to meet these three. She sighed deeply, and especially not to be scolded!

“Is that why you thought letting me be abducted solve all this? And to not let me in on that little plan?” She asked snidely. She pointed at Naoise. “Why were you helping him?! I think you, of all people, should know better!”

“It was the only way to assure you would not be killed,” Nejem narrowed her eyes. “Or letting it come to this.”

“And what in the fuck was I supposed to do in Faerie? Sit, look pretty, and hope no one took a peek up my skirt?! Surrounded by people that mean me harm?!” Eddie screamed.

“Regan would have rescued you,” MacGregor tried to soothe her.

“Well I’m not exactly happy with Regan either right now so you can all fuck off!” Eddie snapped. She was not in the habit of being so rude to her elders, when she was sober anyway, but she was at the point of emotional exhaustion. She had no reserves left to be polite to people who had tried to set her up. And if they thought they could tell her what to do now!

She gruffly pushed past them with their startled looks. “Naoise, come!”

That tug again, but he yielded as he had to. She didn’t bother to turn around to look at his enraged expression. Eddie had no doubt in her mind if he could he kill her in a second, and that was what she was towing behind her on her way home.

“Eddie, please, wait!” MacGregor pleaded.

“I am _not_ handing the kelpie over to you.” Eddie didn’t turn around. “Or Regan. Or anyone. This is my own problem now.”

She clenched her jaw, the tears crested her eyes and made the world a chaotic blur wound her. She knew she should hold back, to not give in to such emotional weakness, but these words had been on her lips all afternoon. She turned around.

“I know I’m just a normal girl. I know I have already fucked up. But, damn it! It was my mistake to make! I made my choice and I’ll deal with it! Good or bad! So just leave me alone! I don’t need anyone to tell me how stupid I am, I know it!”

“Eddie. You really need to think--” she ignored Nejem and continued to walk across the field. She felt like a huffy toddler, stamping her way back home. She didn’t care. This had all been forced on her and she had only done the best she could.

She had saved Jai’s life and for that she would never feel regret or guilt. She hadn’t allowed Naoise to abduct her, and no one could ever tell her that had been the wrong thing to do. She would continue to protect Matthew’s life and she would not yield. No one could ever tell her that these choices had been the wrong ones. Normal human woman or not, her choices were valid, for she knew what was right.

But she knew she had already made a terrible decision. Her choice to bridle Naoise had almost been capricious in that she now had no idea what to do with him. She knew she must not let him harm anyone, but that could easily be at the cost of herself. He was not going to be the attentive servant like Yusuf as he had no debt to pay and nothing to gain. He truly was a slave. And now he was hers, and her responsibility, and she must never forget this.

She bade him to become invisible as they crested the small hillock that bordered the east end of the property. There was a tug, always a tug, whenever she ordered him to do anything. She felt like that resistance would become stronger the longer they were bound. It would never break, but it could surely also be used as a garrote if she didn’t stay on guard.

Naoise, for his part, was being sullenly silent. Eddie didn’t feel like he was being childish as much as assessing the situation. He was looking for the chink in the armor.

The demonstration came readily enough as Matthew greeted her at the barn door.

“I did your chores for you,” he told her softly.

“Oh, Matt you didn’t….” She was silenced as he raised his hand.

“You seemed upset, earlier. Were you really just out on the range? I thought maybe you’d gone to Sarah’s.” He frowned.

“I was, just taking a walk. I guess time got away from me,” Eddie averted her eyes and pushed a stray lock of hair back behind her ear. Matthew put his hand on her shoulder but she still didn’t raise her eyes.

“I hope this is okay, but I gave Kelly your cell number. So maybe you two can chat sometime.” _‘I have someone better.’_ All she could think of was Regan’s assurance everything would be better if Matthew didn’t marry Kelly. That they would all be happier.

“And this is hers,” he handed her a card with the number.

“Okay,” she nodded. When he had walked away she flipped it over to reveal Kelly’s business card. ‘Dr. Kelly Seele, assoc. at Orangeblossom Clinic, Orangeblossom, Ca.’ She turned it over a few more times in her hand. Married to a doctor, and a woman who was trying to reach out to his persnickety younger sister, how could she not be perfect for him? She closed her eyes. It was like the decision to save Jai, she knew it couldn’t be wrong, whatever foreboding it carried. Her secret smile stirred the monster besides her.

“What is it you want?” he asked. She looked up, but it was only his voice the echoed around her.

“None of your business,” she huffed and shoved the card into her pants pocket. “Follow me.”

After she had closed the door behind them the kelpie reappeared and continued to cajole her.

“That woman?” She ignored him as she began taking a headcount of every animal there. “For her to be yours or your brother’s?”

Eddie didn’t answer but this didn’t dissuade the fae. “She is the sister of Regan, I know. He would never allow anyone to touch her without a fight, but I am far stronger than he.”

That gave her pause. Had Naoise also read the card then? He could read English? Moreover he was more familiar with the Seele family than Eddie had previously thought. But she knew she must ignore him, these were not friendly offers. He was looking for a way to make the golden bridle a noose for her.

And yet, he was right wasn’t he? Only a full fae be stronger than a half. And why had Regan wanted Dougal’s ring? Was he already making war with her and Matthew?

“That’s enough.” She told Naoise. She turned to him. ”You are not to eat, harm, nor even touch any life within these walls. You are not to leave them until I give you permission to do so. You are to remain invisible and undetected until I give you permission to leave.”

Naoise sneered and Eddie reeled back at the fearsome tug he gave at the order. For the first time she pulled _back_ however. They were locked in a fierce contest of wills along an invisible chain for a few seconds. Eddie held Naoise’s gaze with a ferocious glare he reciprocated. He was the one who looked away however as the command of the bridle broke across his resistance and his glamour was removed involuntarily.

Eddie gasped at the pain in her chest. Was that where the chain was centered then? Around her heart? Oh god, what had she really done to herself? She flinched and stabilized herself by leaning against a stall door.

Her heifer, hand-raised from a weanling, licked her hand. She ran her hand down the soft face of her pride and joy. Only a week before her weight, health, and what market price she would fetch had been the major concerns in her life. The warmth of her coat was a violet juxtaposition of the cold sleekness of the kelpie’s hide.

“I took a count of all the animals here, so if you eat one, I’ll know.” She glowered in what she hoped was Naoise’s general direction. For all she knew he was right behind her however.

“You can defeat whoever you like, with me under your command, you can have all the riches in the world,” he voice revealed he was somewhere up above her however, in the hay loft or rafters. “You can be a powerful person.”

“I don’t want any of those things!” Eddie covered her ears. “Stay silent until you are commanded to speak!”

Another tug, but then there was abatement. She slowly lowered her hands and silence was what greeted her. Even the animals seemed dumbstruck to have a bridled kelpie in their presence. Eddie slowly exhaled and closed the barn door for the night.

Matthew told her they were about to have supper in the front house but she excused herself with a stomachache. She had no appetite anyway. She retreated to her room and locked herself inside. She dressed for sleep but all she did was sit in the darkness on her bed.

She dropped her face into her hands. _‘You can become a powerful person.’_ Regan opposed Matthew’s marriage to Kelly, and he was a powerful person. The kelpie had already found the chink in her armor. Could she really be thinking of this?

 _He’ll eat me alive!_ Starting with her heart. She shook her head. But what could she do, keep him under a command to not speak or move, invisible to any mortal creature? She would not even treat an animal so cruelly!

But she couldn’t let him go either. He would surely take revenge, it was his nature. He would kill not only her but probably Matthew and Jai as well, maybe even Nejem, MacGregor, and Regan. He had the ability to kill every person in the basin and nothing at all to stop him from doing so without the bridle.

After a few hours when Matthew had returned and gone to bed she opened her door. She stealthily made her way across the hall and slowly opened his door. Her brother was a sound sleeper, especially after a day of work. She could have worn iron boots and stomped into the room and not stirred him. All the same, she gently set the garnet ring down on his dresser, where he would see it when he sought a shirt in the morning.

She looked at Matthew with his hair tousled and his mouth partially open in sound sleep. He was entirely unaware of all the misery in the world. How long she had sought to bring him to that place. She left him to his dreams.

Eddie walked to the parlor whose window looked out toward the yard and barn. Light surged into the room from the flood light that was positioned above the barn door in case of any emergency. The night was still with not even a mouse running across the dirt. Only the wind stirred the dust and tree branches.

“I have no one to help me, no one at all.” She dropped onto her knees and began to weep in the light from the barn. Jai couldn’t save her any longer, and she could surely not tell Matthew or Sarah about any of this or they too may get caught up in the kelpie’s brutality. And those who may have helped her were untrustworthy. All three of them had their own motivations and her self-interest meant nothing to them. Today had proven this.

She was alone, with a monster chained to her, she was alone.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie learns the full price of bridling a kelpie after speaking to Ulysses MacGregor. In light of this information she tries to do what no MacGregor had ever done; treat Naoise as an equal, and offer him a way out of bondage. As such she decides to bring Naoise home for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE FIRST PART OF THE CHAPTER DEPICTS A LARGE SCALE HALLUCINATION. If you're triggered by depictions of warped reality you may want to skip it until MacGregor starts telling his story.

In the scant four hours of sleep she had that night, she dreamt of blood.

Eddie awoke with a horrid feeling of foreboding in her chest, the chain around her heart was as tight as ever. Her dreams faded into a crushing sense of despair. She had not felt such oppression in years. Was all this stress tearing her down into another episode?

Matthew had found her on the parlor floor. He had shaken her awake with a cry. He asked if she had possibly sleep-walked out here.

“Maybe,” She lied though she had not done so since she was five years old. Matthew sat down with a pained look she hated to see. She looked away. At least her breath didn’t smell of alcohol.

“Well, I suppose it was a strange night altogether.” He mused. His palm came into her view with the garnet ring upon it. “I found this on my dresser! Can you believe it? Maybe Mom is looking out for us.”

Eddie raised her face to smile wanly at him. He looked delighted by whatever warm memories were playing in his head of a woman Eddie had never met. She couldn’t wake him from his dream. She hugged him.

“I’m going to take a bath,” she sighed as she pulled away from him. He looked perturbed she wasn’t amazed by the apparent miracle, but he let her go.

She turned on the tap in the bathroom and the sink filled with blood. She quickly shut off the faucet. She gave a gasping cry. It must only be the last echo of last night’s nightmares. She swallowed and turned on the faucet again. More blood poured from the spout. She reached down to touch it, to try to find telltale particles of rust that would turn the water red. It had to be the only explanation! All that ran through her fingers was the familiar thick and heavy liquid that flowed through her veins. It smelled only of iron and coated her fingers.

She tried the bath’s faucet and stained the tub red. Eddie sank down to the floor. Algae. There must be algae in the water. That was what was turning it red. She put a hand to her forehead. Matthew would surely mention it at breakfast. She had to get ahold of herself!

She walked into the kitchen with shaking hands. Matthew placed the customary coffee before her. She pushed the cup off the table with a small scream. It shattered on the floor and spilled its contents across the tile.

“Eddie, what?” Matthew sputtered.

“You can’t see that?!” Eddie gasped with a frantic wave of her arm. The floor was covered in blood! Matthew stared at her and glanced down in confusion. Eddie quickly realized only she could see this blood. She inhaled sharply. Oh god, she was having a psychotic break!

“The, the bug in the cup!” she stammered. “A huge fly!”

“No, I didn’t see it,” Matthew frowned. He turned away, “I’ll get you another cup.”

“No, I’m fine!” The coffee maker throbbed with blood! “I really need to get on my chores!”

Before Matthew could answer Eddie bolted out the door. Once outside she braced herself against the barn door as she tried to calm herself. “Oh god, oh god!”

She’d had hallucinations with her depression before, but only of bodiless voices screaming at her from the walls. She swallowed, it would be fine. She knew the blood wasn’t real. It would surely eventually abate. She needed to make an appointment with her doctor if this kept up, but for now this may have just been a stress related response. She just needed to work through it. She just needed to stay on her medication. It would be fine.

She slowly opened the barn door. Naoise was surely still around, but he was minding his order to remain invisible until asked not to be. This was perfectly fine with Eddie as this way she could ignore him as she went about her business. She certainly was not going to let on to the kelpie the goat’s milk was blood and that was all that poured through the hoses and into the water troughs.

“What do you want for breakfast?” she called out to him after she had finished with all her other charges. “I don’t think I can get anything raw, Mindy has surely noticed the shank I swiped for Dougal is gone.”

“Is that the price for his confidence nowadays?” Naoise’s voice floated down from overhead. He was still up in the rafters. Did he enjoy perching or was this some sort of intimidation technique? Eddie frowned up at him.

“If someone had done for me everything Dougal has done for you I wouldn’t speak so lowly of him.” Naoise snorted at her. “And it’s none of your business besides. Now, what do you want to eat?”

“The calf.”

“Well you can’t have her because she’s going to market in four days.” Eddie huffed.   
“A chicken then.” Naoise sighed.

“Nothing that is alive here,” Eddie informed him. “Mindy is going to notice her stock is missing. Look I can get you some human food, bacon, sausage….”

“I have no interest in it.” A beam rattled as Naoise apparently made a descent onto the floor. “And who is this ‘Mindy’, your lady of the manor?”

“She’s my aunt, though she may as well be queen around here anyway.” Eddie pointed in what was hopefully Naoise’s direction. “And don’t think about harming her or anything just so you can eat her animals. You’re not allowed to, got it?”

There was no answer but this implied he was glowering at her. And then there was that fateful tug at her heart. She cringed and didn’t pull back. It always stopped after a second or two.

“And if you don’t want to eat, fine.” She sighed and turned her back on him. She was at least trying to be civil, it was he who kept refusing any sort of diplomacy, just like before! She knew however she couldn’t keep him tucked away in the barn forever.

What was she going to do?

Water remained blood through-out breakfast and she quickly found herself unable to eat again. This added to her nausea and headache from her lack of sleep the night before. She had not felt so badly in a very long time, it was like her body wished to collapse all around her. Eddie knew she would be unable to find rest however if she stayed at home. She forced herself out the door despite Matthew’s cries of concern. After all she had an exam today in biology, though she felt certain she would fail it as she could not form a fully coherent thought much less recall formulas for statistics based on genetic outcomes.

At the bus stop she found MacGregor and Yusuf waiting for her, both sporting overly large sunglasses. Eddie felt her head spin in either anger or just defeat at seeing them. Why couldn’t anyone just leave her alone?

“Whatever it is you want, the answer is ‘no’,” she told them both shortly. MacGregor peered at her over the rims of his glasses with blood-shot eyes. Eddie flinched at the memory of her own face that morning. She had a feeling however MacGregor had not spent half the night weeping at the cruelty of fate.

Or perhaps he had as he may have most nights. What did she know really? Nothing, clearly, with how things were going.

“Just a bite of lunch, if you can lass,” MacGregor said gently. “You’re on your way to your classes now aren’t you?”

“Boy, Yusuf, I hope you also laminated that copy of my weekly itinerary,” Eddie huffed at the jinn. He shifted uncomfortably on the bench and avoided eye contact.

“Okay, I’ll level with you Eddie,” MacGregor waved his hands up and down. “What you said yesterday….was not uncalled for, in fact, it was what needed to be said for me to remove my head out of my arse.”

He smiled, “come have some lunch with us, and I’ll tell you what needs to be told. I’ll answer all your questions. I…was being a coward before, plainly. And I think you need to hear…what I was too ashamed to talk about before.”

“All right.” Eddie was moved by his sincerity, even as she hoped she had not just been duped. “I have a break at one, meet me at that little café on Rose.”

The day continued as fitfully as her sleep. The Via Verde ran red and in the distance the empty Lake Santos flared crimson. If Naoise had been a demon it would have seemed like exquisite divine punishment. She was even more distracted from her exam’s questions by marveling at the professor’s goldfishes swimming in a miniature sea of blood.

As she walked away from the test she was certain she had failed and may lead to her re-taking the course next semester, she noticed something in the thrift shop window as she walked down the street to her lunch appointment. It was a simple bracelet of empty glass beads. Eddie imagined them upon a woman’s wrist and with a vague plan in mind stepped inside to buy it.

She ran her fingers over the beads as she walked down the avenue. For this plan to work however she would need Naoise’s compliance. For this would be the first counter-attack against Regan. Perhaps she had already made her decision. She carefully placed the bracelet into her backpack.

A night of no sleep and a morning of not eating made Eddie giddy enough to ask for a glass of water at the café. She sighed at both MacGregor and Yusuf still wearing their shades inside. For Yusuf it was somewhat understandable though it was unlikely anyone be able to ascertain from his extraordinary eyes that he had hooved feet. As for MacGregor, Eddie still had a hand-out about Alcoholics’ Anonymous.

“Where is Mrs. Nejem?” she asked as the waitress put the water down at her elbow, her own miniature sea of blood.

“She has gone back home. She has her own family and her own post down in Palisade Beach,” MacGregor informed her. “She left behind Yusuf as a guard and a link to her.”

Eddie nodded but couldn’t help but to sigh. “And my life is out of immediate danger, isn’t it?”

“Perhaps,” Yusuf mused as he left his tea untouched. Eddie reached for her water, the smell of iron choked her, but surely it would not taste of blood. This hallucination could not be so vicious. She put the glass to her lips. It slid down warm into her throat and the taste of salt caused her to gag. She spit out the water and dropped the glass onto the floor as she continued to cough.

“Miss, are you all right?” A waiter patted her back to help her clear her lungs. She shook her head and tried to look at him through her tears.

“Please excuse me, I’m sorry it got all over the floor-!” she choked. The waiter shook his head and wiped off the table. He replaced her glass a few seconds later, as much blood as before. Eddie sat back with a great sigh. Was she going to die of dehydration now?

“Eddie, what’s wrong?” MacGregor asked after they had been left alone.

“I…” she swallowed, she didn’t like to speak about her mental illness with anyone. She closed her eyes, but she was also tired of lying. “I’ve….been hallucinating since this morning that all liquid was blood. And just now it even tasted of it.”

“What?” MacGregor asked and Eddie shook her head, covering her mouth with her hand. She averted her eyes as she continued to explain.

“A few years ago I was diagnosed with depression but I’ve never had hallucinations attached to it, until now….” She sighed. “It must be all the stress.”

“It’s Naoise.” MacGregor corrected her sternly.

“What?” Eddie gasped. She stared at him as he nodded in confirmation.

“My family….needed strong wards and spells to keep him in check even with a bridle. He and Dougal both could play with the mind of whoever had possession of their respective chains. Fae are very clever and specious, you never have full control of them. They will always find a way to strike at you.” MacGregor sat back and let his head rest against the glass that separated the booths. “It is why the heir and his closest brother or cousin alone were allowed to have the kelpies for mounts. It was a way to prove their capacity for leadership, being able to master such a creature.”

“He didn’t even say anything about it this morning!” Eddie cried. And she had been offering to feed him, that bastard!

“And you didn’t either I take it,” MacGregor prompted.

“No, I, I…I thought it was just part of my illness.” Eddie raised a hand to her forehead.

“That’s good lass, you must never show any weakness to him,” MacGregor wistfully chortled. “Aye, it must have disappointed him greatly to not see you a weeping mess.”

Eddie swallowed as she realized for the first time her illness had protected her and not been a simple detriment for once. She could only imagine if someone who had never experienced mental illness would react if exposed to such a large scale hallucination. She gave a small laugh. _You can’t drive insane someone who already is._

“God, just wait until I get home.” She seethed.

“Do it now.” She glanced at MacGregor in question and he elaborated. “Naoise doesn’t need to be in your presence for you to give him orders. That bridle is a very strong bond.”

Eddie nodded and inhaled deeply.

“Naoise. This is my order. Stop with this hallucination and whatever other head-games you’ve got up your sleeve from now on,” she whispered, only loud enough for her audience to hear. The tug was vicious and she cringed at the pain it caused in her chest. She covered her heart with her hands and gasped at the pulling. She grimaced, she could imagine how furious he was at being found out so quickly. The struggle was over in a few seconds however and she closed her eyes. When she opened them there was a glass of water at her elbow, nothing more or less.

“Lass, this is going to kill you. It may take decades, but I feel like there is a reason no head of the MacGregor clan of Dubh Valley lived beyond fifty,” MacGregor frowned.

“So long as he only kills me, I don’t care,” she whispered. This must be the same sort of feeling MacGregors ancestors had had when they each in succession took up ownership of the kelpie. She would never give this burden to anyone else however. If she must sacrifice ever having children, so be it. This curse would die with her.

MacGregor only sighed at her words. Eddie drank greedily from her glass of water, relishing the taste of every drop.

“Is that it then? You intend to keep him in bondage until you die?” He asked.

“What other choice do I have? That pain…” she gestured at her heart. “I would never ask anyone else to feel it. It feels terrible, like your heart is being ripped out, every time he tugs. And perhaps…that is just what is happening. Every time he pulls, he’s shortening my life.”

“Aye,” the man agreed and bowed his head. “It is why….I set them free instead of taking on that burden and forcing my younger brother to do the same. Though, perhaps, in the end, I was just a coward.”

Eddie wiped her lips. “Is this the story you wanted to tell me?”

MacGregor paused and the waitress came to take their orders. After that brief interlude, he finally opened up to the girl he was trying to save, and stopped trying to save his dignity instead.

“I was born in Scotland, as you may be able to tell, in Aberdeenshire. This was in the year 1901, and by that time the era of the great clans was long since gone. My family had however had retained their nobility and wealth. My father was Marquis Ewan MacGregor, and he had grown tired of the life of the laird.” MacGregor shrugged helplessly. “Maybe it was all those Westerns he used to read, Karl May and all that, but he fancied he could go to the American West and become some sort of robber-baron.”

“But your family still had control of Naoise and Dougal at that time?” Eddie asked.

“Aye, they had assured my family’s survival during all the wars and the Clearances but when things became stabilized….they were more political mettle than anything else, and a fancy mount during a parade. My father hated that kind of life.” He frowned. “If he could have just been happy….”

He sighed, “Anyway, when I was around twenty years old we came out to California. At that time there was the great economic boom after the Great War and a man could fight against bandits if he lived far enough out. He moved most of the clan here, including my uncle, who was the owner of Dougal, and as my father was of Naoise.”

“My uncle Robert….was not happy Father gave up his peerage to move to America, and if he had not come Father would have just moved Dougal down the line to myself. Robert would have had the title of Marquis, but nothing of the family’s heirlooms.” His face grew dark as he recalled the man. “Dougal flattered him, set him up for ruin, while we both hated him. He was a drunk, a violent one. More than once he laid his hands on me and my younger brother but…Father never did anything about it. He coddled him, as Dougal did. While Dougal did it to make him weak, Father did it because _he_ was weak.”

MacGregor closed his eyes, “I came to hate them both. It was probably when we came here that Dougal first started talking to me about killing Robert so I could become his lord instead but I was leery at first, I knew the kelpies had managed to divide the clan before to suit their own ends. They were not to be trusted.”

“No kidding,” Eddie couldn’t help but to sigh. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how twisted this family must have become that they were able to survive having such monsters in their midst for so long.

“Our ranch did well, with the kelpies we had a reliable workforce of strong horses to herd our cattle and make certain that even during a drought we had water for our groves and ranges. We used them to dazzle local politicians and we soon had our own small kingdom again, just like we used to in Aberdeenshire. The clan was untouchable once again. We owned this entire basin once, lass.”

MacGregor paused, “always at a price however. We did well enough to keep Robert in drink. And I watched my father and uncle suffer from that burden you now feel. I connected it with their cowardice, weakness, and cruelty. I wanted nothing to do with it. I would have run away if not for my younger brother Nathan who would inherit both of those monsters in my absence. He was a sweet and kind boy, they would eat him alive.” MacGregor looked up wistfully. Then his expression became ugly, he spoke as if something rotten was in his mouth.

“Then Robert beat my mother during one of his rages, so badly her eyes were closed shut. My father, as always, did nothing. It was then I decided I would do two things; free the clan of their blundering leadership and the curse of the kelpies. We would live truly new lives in America.” MacGregor gave a self-conscious laugh. “And at twenty-two you think these sorts of things are so easy to do! Especially when you can ally with faeries.”

He shook his head with no mirth, only regret, “So I brokered a deal with the two kelpies. If Naoise would kill my father and uncle, and if Dougal would give me eternal youth so I could stay head of the family and protect them forever, I would free them. It took some maneuvering and cajoling, but my uncle died first, apparently drowned in a drunken fit in the Via Verde. My father was thrown from his horse into a stone wall. I became head of the clan, and have not aged a day since.”

Eddie shifted uncomfortably, looking at MacGregor with his long hair and sunglasses he looked like a rather carefree young man. She would have never thought he had engineered a coup against his own father and uncle. Though she could understand the rage and agony years of abuse had given him, she doubted he had become happier for being as cruel as those around him.

“And the kelpies were gone from everyone’s lives, or so I was so foolish as to think. I told my own clan to stay away from the lake and river, and everything would be fine, or so I thought. I cared not if they drowned some farmer’s urchin or preyed on their stock. Dougal remained friendly as he likes human company but Naoise…I did not see him or speak to him for decades.”

MacGregor looked away, at somewhere over Eddie’s head. “I kept the ranch running fine, and the family well cared for. Nathan was able to live a normal life without a blemish. I was very proud of myself. Then…the crash came. We lost some of our assets overnight but the crash took a few years to hit California. We couldn’t escape that wave however and when it came…we lost everything.”

He closed his eyes, letting whatever images play on the back of his eyelids and not letting Eddie see his full expression of guilt and regret. “At the same time I also lost my young wife in an auto accident. The losses were too much for me. I abdicated, or so I told myself. I left Nathan in charge, but the family eventually scattered anyway. I returned to Scotland, regained my citizenship by fighting in North Africa and then Italy. At war’s end I returned home to Aberdeenshire and took up a small farm. I forgot about my family, all my duties. I tried to ignore the fact I would live on and on…”

“Heh, Mr. MacGregor you call Lorna your niece but…she was like your great-niece wasn’t she?” Eddie smiled. The waitress served their food then, and MacGregor returned her wistful smile after she had left.

“Aye. When you start adding in “great” you remember just how many generations apart you are. Lorna was Nathan’s granddaughter.” He explained with a small, self-conscious laugh.

“And I had forgotten about them all, until the day she came to stand on my doorstep, begging to know more about the kelpies. We had not had someone with Sight in the family since my grandmother….” MacGregor sighed deeply and looked up at Eddie. “I didn’t think about that at all, when I ran away. That eventually there would be another Sighted child born into the bloodline, and spirits would be attracted to her or him. That one day…that person would shoulder the burden I had left behind.”

He raised his eyes even higher, over Eddie’s head. “In the end I couldn’t help her at all, though maybe if I had been there when she was a child, guarding the family like I should have, she would have never come to her end. I could have protected her better if I was in a position of authority.”

He closed his eyes. “I was so ashamed of what happened, I couldn’t even bear to tell anyone. I hesitated when I shouldn’t have, and now you’re in this position--!”

“So it was better if I was spared that direct confrontation,” Eddie mused. She laid down her fork. “I guess I can see where you’re coming from, when the last time you didn’t interfere and it turned out all wrong.”

She moved her hand off the table. “And it still did, even when you did try to do something. Catch-22.”

MacGregor just sighed at her. Eddie endeavored to smile however.

“But I am not your blood. I am not your responsibility. That was the mistake I think. No matter what you did, it would have come to the same end I think. Even if I had known all this…I still would have saved Jai’s life.”

“I wanted to warn you about fae gifts,” MacGregor said quietly. “About what being in their presence for years is like. It twists you inside-out, until you start looking more like them than yourself.”

“Yeah”, and then she could only grimace. She looked down at her plate.

“As you will tell me your secrets I’ll tell you mine. I promised someone I would never be afraid, but I’m terrified. From the moment I bridled Naoise, I’ve done nothing but live in fear. I can already feel my heart twisting every time he pulls, and I’m afraid of what he’s going to yank out of me--!”

“Then let me be afraid for you,” Yusuf interjected and Eddie blinked at him, not quite sure what he meant. He elaborated, “in order to save my soul I have been set to complete five hundred good deeds, my penance for years as an evil spirit.”

“That’s why you’re with Mrs. Nejem?” Eddie asked.

“She is a good woman who performs good works. It was also she who found me one day after I had been attacked by jinn who had not yet heard the Word. My servitude is in gratitude for what she did for me, it is another good deed. I am already twisted, your fear will not harm me. Reach out for me when you need a kind hand and word.”

“Ah.” Eddie nodded. She considered and knew the truth. “It’s the only way I am going to keep my sanity.”

Yusuf patted her hand, not in sympathy, but in comfort.

“Thank you,” she told them both. She was glad she had not allowed her anger to overcome her common sense. She knew the worst thing anyone could do was be inflexible. She had desired a unique resolution before with Naoise and had sacrificed it by refusing to give up the ring. She had been stubborn, and she had paid the price, and had nearly killed Jai in the process. She would not see another friend endangered by her stubbornness.

She had already made her decision. It was a terrible thing, but it was hers, and she would never run from it. It was her own resolution, unlike the bridling that had been manipulated and prayed for by Regan. Unlike her enslavement that would have destroyed her. This would be her own eulogy, written by her alone.

And all there was in death was our legacy.

 

 

As the bus left North Vale and headed back towards Orangeblossom on its single, circular trajectory, Eddie pulled the doctor’s card out of her wallet. Yusuf had left with MacGregor, so, for the time, she was alone. It was fine for what she planned to do next. She texted a simple question to her future sister-in-law, a concept sticky with hope and distress.

By the time the daily journey ended she was answered. Eddie placed her phone by the bracelet with lifeless glass beads. When she had come to the fence that marked the west end of the Double M ranch she was met by Jai. He looked whole and as complete as ever as he stood in the crimson sun and upon the dark earth.

“Hey, how are you?” she asked, and it was a breathless cry of relief.

“I should be asking you that.” He glanced around. “Where is the waterhorse?”

“In our barn, sulking, I imagine.” Eddie laid a hand over her heart.

“You just left him in a barn?” Jai frowned.

“Well he’s under orders to remain invisible, and not to interact with or harm anyone,” Eddie waved her hand. Jai’s brow furrowed.

“You can’t do that forever. He’s going to find some way out.”

“I know, but don’t worry about it. I got a resolution in mind.” Eddie rubbed the back of her neck.

“And what’s that?” Jai pressed and took a step towards her.

“Don’t worry about it.” Eddie put her hands in her pockets and rocked back on her heels. She tried to smile disarmingly.

“’Don’t worry about it’,” he repeated sardonically and narrowed his eyes. Eddie felt her heart skip a beat, this was the first time Jai had been upset at her. “You say we’re friends, something that would require I worry about you, but then you tell me not to?”

Eddie opened her mouth but couldn’t get the words out as Sarah flashed into her mind, her best friend who knew nothing of any of this. She faltered, and he continued his attack.

“Are we friends or not?” He demanded.

“….Yes.” Eddie bowed her head. “But…it doesn’t bother you, that you almost died for me yesterday?”

“It was what I was expected to do,” Jai said quietly and Eddie raised her face up at him.

“Is that what Regan intended for you?” she asked in the same awful whisper. Jai’s eyes widened and he looked away with a shake of his head.

“No prince is made to die, we are made for the people we protect, and if that’s what that protection requires…” he sighed. Eddie inhaled, she wondered how Regan would have reacted if Jai had indeed been killed by Naoise.

“Listen, Jai, the way I’ve got this figured you’ll never be in that position ever again,” Eddie told him. “I just have to ask that you trust me.”

She swallowed, “I can save us all.”

An utter lie, she had been damned the second she had taken this upon herself.

“And what is it you intend to do?” Jai asked.

“Make a deal with Naoise. Make him an equal so he no longer has a reason to be angry. If I make him an ally instead of a slave, he’ll have no more cause for revenge.”

“And what would that deal entail?” Jai challenged as he put his hands on his hips.

“I don’t know….I don’t know what he’ll accept,” Eddie confessed. She gave him a wry smile. “I plan on first putting my own freedom on the table. I’ll be his bride, if he’ll take no vengeance and do something for me in the meantime.”

Jai took a step back in apparent revulsion or incredulity. “Why would he accept that?”

“Because, according to his brother, he’s in love with me, though he behaves as no man in love would,” Eddie ran a hand through her hair and gave a great sigh. Though after all that had happened she doubted love still bloomed in his infernal heart. That was why she had prepared herself for what he may ask otherwise and gave to Jai no inkling of the fear in her heart.

“And what is this thing you would ask of him for something like that?” Jai frowned.

“My brother, married to Regan’s sister, Kelly.” Eddie raised her chin. “Regan tried to enchant me to interfere with their relationship, I know it. I won’t allow it.”

“So you’re going to have that kelpie enchant them?!” Jai cried.

“Oh no, nothing of the sort,” Eddie shook her head. “They have all the love in the world, they need nothing else. No I just need some countermeasures to stop Regan playing with their heads like he tried to do to me.”

“Eddie.” Jai closed his eyes in frustration. “I know you can only be offended by Regan’s apparent dislike of your brother, but it is far from that simple. He is just trying to protect his sister.”

“Jai. You can’t convince me it’s okay for him to do what he tried to do to me to other people, good intentions or not. This is something I know in my heart to be wrong and it doesn’t matter how many people may tell me otherwise. Or, _who_ does.” She narrowed her eyes. “Is this going to affect our friendship?”

“I hope not,” Jai said after a long pause, apparently he was not as much of a liar as she was.

“Okay.” Eddie stepped back. “So, excuse me, but I need to do this.”

“Won’t you let me help you with this?” he asked.

“No, it can be only him and me, no one else,” she shook her head. Never mind the kelpie and the prince already hated one another.

“Then wait, and let me give you this,” Jai reached into his jacket. He pulled out what appeared to be a sheathed dirk. When he laid it on his palm Eddie could see the handle appeared to be made of bone and blackened from centuries of handling. What may have been silver was laced across the handle and leather sheath, the metallic tracing shone weakly in the dim sunlight. Like the bridle it was surely a powerful object wrapped in rags, a disguise for a true horror.

“What is this?” she asked.

“A blade that could pierce a kelpie’s hide.” Jai’s hand curled around the sheath. “I’m sure you saw how quickly he healed from my blade that was silver. Silver will slow fae down, but it could never pierce their glamour through. Iron however…”

He drew back the sheath to reveal a heavy blade. It shone where it had been sharpened along its dark edges.

“If he were to receive a mortal wound with this blade, if his head were to be cut off, or if his heart were to be pierced, he would die.”

“I could never…I could never do anything so…” Eddie shook in revulsion.

“Even if he tried to kill your brother?” Eddie gave a small cry and Jai looked disgusted, at himself. Despite his repulsion however he pressed on. “You need a fail-safe. The MacGregor family needed charms and such weapons to keep the pair under control even with their fae blood. Regan could tell you…such stories….about what they did.”

“I don’t need to hear anymore horror stories.” Eddie shut her eyes. Dougal had perhaps set Mr. MacGregor on his path of a lifetime of unhappiness by proposing he kill his uncle. Naoise had probably killed the MacGregor patriarchs without a second thought. He was already attacking her vulnerable points, how long before he did pierce her at her weakest point?

If Naoise killed someone now, it would be her responsibility. That was what MacGregor had been trying to warn her of in his tale of despair and regret. If she denied what was truly before her she would lose everything, and especially what she meant to protect. She raised up her hands and Jai dropped the blade into them. It was heavy and smelled of blood.

“I’m sorry Eddie,” Jai whispered. Eddie couldn’t help but to give a small smile. All her prince could do for her now was feel sorry for her. She tilted his chin up with a small press of her fingers.

“Whatever happens now, I take responsibility for it, remember that,” her smile grew wider, and more brittle. She turned away from the prince and towards the monster she had imprisoned. The prince left her then.

She hid the blade. She dug a small hole beneath an old cart, broken and left to rot in years of sunshine and wind before the barn, and buried it. She was fearful of the smell of blood upon her as she approached the kelpie.

She opened the door slowly, but Naoise was still under his bind to not appear before human eyes until ordered to. She raised her head after she shut the door behind her. Sunlight spilled in from the hayloft’s window and cast long shadows that curled in the corners of the stalls. She exhaled, there was still dirt beneath her fingernails and her eyes ached in exhaustion from so much weeping. She drew her shoulders back and prepared for that painful tug.

“Naoise. Appear before me.” She only gave a grimace at that pull between them. The spiteful creature appeared as a black horse before her. The exiled king of the lake was laying on his legs with his head down. The torpid stallion did not stir even an ear as she walked towards him. She narrowed her eyes, he was mocking her order to not speak when she could have only come to do so. He knew she had figured out the hallucinations were because of him, so at the very least she would have come to speak to him of his trickery.

She sighed, knelt down next to him, and leaned against his barrel. His ears twitched but he still did not raise his head.

"You're ignoring me now?" she snorted. Fine, then. He could be in any form he wished to be for this, it was his choice to speak or not. He could hear whatever body he wore and all she needed was for him to listen now.

The solution had been there all along; she just had to give him what he wanted.

She exhaled and rolled onto her back against him. Where to begin? With a simple truth. “I have never wanted to be your enemy Naoise.”

He didn’t respond and feeling emboldened Eddie expanded her thought. “But how could you see me as nothing else? You are self-aware, and doing what you’re supposed to, and I enslaved you. How can we trust one another? How could you do nothing else but try to regain your freedom? How could I do anything else but try to keep you down? How could I do nothing else but become as cruel as you?”

She laughed ruefully, tilting her face up towards rafters, an indolent and indifferent sky. "So I will do better. No more lies, no more head-games. Let's…come to an agreement, you and I."

She felt him shift, but as she was still unable to look him in the eyes; her gaze came crashing back down to the earth.

"At the end of this enslavement, when I let you go…if you promise me you will harm no other human for what I have done, not my brother, MacGregor, _anyone_ , I will give you what you want most. Whatever it is." She licked her lips and paused. She could feel his cool and large body beside her, still an equine, unable, unwilling perhaps, to speak yet.

"I will free you when I have gotten what I want most-- my brother married to Kelly Seele." She at last felt a man leaning against her, back to back. “Regan is against it, you see, and I don’t think I can make him see otherwise. So I need an advantage over his magic, and you’re it.”

“What are you offering me exactly?” Naoise asked softly in his human voice, with all the cadence of water rushing over rocks.

“I….my freedom.” Whatever that entailed. Eddie swallowed and still could not look back at him. The weight of his body was a crushing and freezing flood. “If you would still have me, after what I did, I would…marry you Naoise, and be your bride, and all that would entail.”

For it may mean immortality, and children, neither one was an idea she was much comfortable with. It would at least, at least, mean she would never be able to see her friends and family nor her home ever again. She would never again live among her own people and culture. It would be the same situation Naoise was now living in.

He left her then. He stood up and took a few steps away from her. She at last looked up at him when he refused to turn back to her.

“I could never trust you.” It was not an admonishment, just the truth. Eddie exhaled and stood up. He looked back at her with his inhuman eyes that reflected her expression of fear. Both of his eyes were at last clear. He looked away. “I would require your death, and that you would give it to me, as my fail-safe.”

Eddie recalled the knife outside, his death was her fail-safe, so that was only fair.

“And you would wear the bridle until the day I remove it, when this is all over?” She asked.

“Until the day you either become my bride, or die by my hand.” He offered his hand to her, asking her to give him her death. She hesitated, only for the second, only for the second life screamed back at her. He took it with his death-cold touch, but he too hesitated, with no life to scream at him, and only perhaps memory instead.

“What has your brother done to deserve this?" he asked softly. She was surprised he asked; that he didn’t leap at the very chance.

She sighed softly. To gain anything one had to sacrifice something. To gain Naoise’s cooperation she had to strip down all of her walls and show the aching core. She had taken his freedom, he would have her vulnerability.

"Well, I guess…" Eddie began and then hesitated. She blew out a long breath as she gathered her thoughts. _No, no guessing_. She was dead certain about this; she would not have made this decision if she had felt anything less. "Matthew has always been there for me. My mother died giving birth to me, and on that day, Matthew more or less became an adult."

She shrugged; she had never felt comfortable speaking about it. Even in therapy she had avoided the topic, citing that she did not recall her mother. How could she, only being a few hours old when she had died? The post-natal death had left no grief in the infant. Her ignorance of maternal affection had spared her from disclosing what she did know: that her mother had affected her by how her loss had impacted those _around_ Eddie.   
"We went to my mother's mother. Pops…well you know, lost it." She helplessly gestured, unsure really what to call it other than walking death. Whatever it is that makes a man insensible to his children. "Matthew pretty much took care of me though. I mean Grandmama was nice and looked after us, and there was my father’s family living on the same block, but she had to work to keep us, and then when she got sick when I was about thirteen…"

She found she most definitely did not want to talk about _that_. She closed her eyes.

"Anyway, I was a really selfish kid. Spoiled I suppose, everyone pitied me because my mother was dead when I didn't really ever care about her…" She cringed. She still felt terrible saying that, though she had only just started to feel guilt with that statement when her father had stared at her like she was the most disgusting human being alive. And that was after years of little gifts, pats on the head and pitying looks from even within her own family. _‘Vida es difícil, sin una madre, mija.’_

"Matthew did everything for me, and I never stopped to think about him, about how he never got to really do anything he liked because he was always looking after me. I mean, Kelly is the first girlfriend he's ever really had and he's twenty-six!"

Eddie laughed a little and finally glanced at Naoise. He was partially turned away, and his expression was inscrutable. She made a small noise of uncertainty but chose to finish.

"Well, let's just say as I grew up, I got worse. My grandmother died when I was sixteen, and my father took over custody of me though his mother, my Abuela, offered to take me in. Because he just couldn’t listen to her-! Matthew couldn’t get on with him either and left to look for work. He always promised he would come back for me but I—!"

She swallowed and put a hand on her forehead. "I just couldn't handle it. I got into trouble. Bad, bad trouble. But he came back for me all the same."

Realizing that the kelpie probably had no idea what she was talking about beyond she was a miserable fool, she decided to wrap up her tale of how she had been her brother's burden for most of her life.

"Matthew is like that-- very kind, very giving, and he's had shit luck. Kelly is the first woman to really interest him, and he really loves her, I can tell. And you know it too; he overcame the seal with love, as I did. That ring was meant for Kelly.” She glanced at Naoise who softly snorted. She doubted he was impressed that an emotion he didn’t seem to understand had defeated him not once but twice.

“So if I can give him just a little happiness in his life…I'll go for it. He deserves it for how much of his life he's already given me. And that's why I will give you my freedom…or life…for him."

She looked up at him with a grin. "I just want to make it right."

"Such a burden is guilt." Eddie blinked at the statement but there was no pause between it and him pulling her forward into his embrace. He opened his mouth and Eddie stiffened at what was not so much a kiss as an assault. She cried out in more surprise than pain as he used his tongue to position hers beneath one of his fangs and pierced it. The taste of iron flooded her mouth and the smell choked her. She struggled to breathe and found herself forced to swallow what tasted like cold blood in order to not drown. She pushed away from him, choking on her own blood, and she wiped her mouth of the dribble at the corner of her lips.

“What, what did you do?!” she gasped at the sickening taste. He licked his own lips, painted with her blood, and she recalled the width of his jaws with a shiver. Why did she feel like she had just leapt into his damned lake again?

“An exchange of blood. Some of my magic now swims in your veins. You have given me your death, by that magic I’ll strike you dead if you try to renege your promise to me.” The kelpie explained. Eddie swam backwards towards a haystack.

“And you have tasted my blood too, why?” she asked as she collapsed into the soft embrace. Her body was dry, but her blood was drenched in cold.

“So I will always be able to find you.” Eddie laid back with a gasp. She had made a deal with the devil, but in this case, God did not even come into it. If she died at the end of this, would her soul still return to heaven? Or would it fall to earth like a sterile piece of ice, melting into the unforgiving earth to be forgotten forever? She closed her eyes. Nothing, _nothing_ , would make her regret saving Matthew!

“We have a deal then.” She breathed. For the bridle was her cruelty to him. He walked after her and peered down at her suffering on the hay.

“Are you ill?” he asked.

“If that’s what kissing you is like,” Eddie mused, and spitefully didn’t open her eyes. “I wouldn’t care to do it ever again.”

She heard him snort. “It is because you were exhausted before you had that taste of magic.”

“And whose fault is _that_?” she groused as she turned over on her side and curled her body, trying to coax some heat out from her core. She could imagine his sneer as she heard him walk away. She raised her head. “Hey you gotta make sure no one but me sees you, okay?!”

He didn’t answer and for the first time she felt no corresponding tug on the bridle. She set her head down in relief and was already dozing when something falling on her startled her. She sat up to find herself covered in a horse blanket, pungent with the scent of the animal. She looked up at Naoise in surprise and he just stared at her with his unblinking eyes. She had a feeling he either was making an effort to hide his emotions from her, or he naturally didn’t make very many facial expressions.

She ran her hands down the heavy blanket, or perhaps actions spoke louder than words. She recalled all his earlier clumsy attempts to court her, and she had, after all, just agreed to marry him. She couldn’t even bring herself to smile as she looked down at the winding warf and woof of the blanket, _you stupid horse, don’t you realize the heartbreak you’re setting yourself up for?_

She felt tears forming in her eyes. She was going to have to be very careful, or this was going to turn into an even greater disaster. He said nothing to her tears. He laid beside her as a horse, not touching her, but surrounding her body with his. Eddie swallowed her tears.

“Don’t let anyone see you,” she requested again. His image faded away but she knew he was still there and within arm’s reach. She didn’t reach out for him. She fell back into the embrace of sleep. It was dreamless and truly restive. She felt no fear, no anxiety, and no doubt within her slumber. There was only the comfort of oblivion.

She was brought back to the fore of life by the screaming of a goat.

“Hey-!” She sat up and in a confused daze looked towards Alina’s stall. It was dark still without the sun and only the weak light of the fading moon. She dimly made out Naoise standing before Alina’s stall and she rose in a frightened rush. “Leave her alone! I told you to not eat any of the animals!”

“I am not trying to eat her,” The kelpie responded in a dry tone that clearly implied if he wanted anything dead it would have been before Eddie had even stirred. He lifted the pail in his hand. “I was going to milk her, but she is refusing to let me near her.”

“What?” Eddie frowned. Her foot stepped on something soft and she leapt back. She looked down at the raw rack of ribs on the ground, surely they were freshly plucked from Mindy’s meat locker.

“And I told you to not steal any of Mindy’s meat!” Eddie snapped. God they had only made their deal last night and he was already making so much trouble for her!

“It is not for me, it is for you, you need to eat.” He informed her as he frowned at the goat. Alina returned his gaze, clearly challenging him as she kept her kid pinned in the corner. “And I am afraid you will have to deal with this she-beast, I was able to feed the other animals at least for you.”

“What? What are you…?” Eddie braced herself against a stall as she tried to absorb what he was telling her. “Did you do my chores for me?”

“Yes.” He set the pail down and turned towards her.

“ _Why_?” She asked, and it was all she could ask in her utter confusion. She knew she had given him no order to.

“Because you were asleep and needed to rest.” He answered. She stared at him, completely dumbfounded for a few seconds.

“So, what? You go from serial killer on a rampage to sweet boyfriend?!” He had even apparently gotten her breakfast! She gave a scoff. “Give me a break! You even once said yourself told me you cannot become something you are not!”

“That is true. I could no more hope to become human than you could to become fae,” he mused as he walked up to her. “However any creature has many sides to themselves. You have shown me your devotion and your cruelty, what you will do when tested. And I have shown you my cruelty and brutality because I was challenged.”

He tilted his head as he stopped before her. She took a step back.

“But I told you before also that I could make an amicable husband.” She glowered at him and he raised his chin. “Or is it that hateful to you to think I could be more than a monster to you?”

“A few kind gestures aren’t going to make me forget the fear and terror you inflicted on me!” Eddie snapped. “How you nearly killed my brother and Jai! So if you think doing that sort of shit is going to butter me up, you can quit it right now!”

She reached down and picked up the rack of ribs. If she washed it off it should be fine. Cooking it would surely kill all the bacteria it had incurred by being left on the ground. She met his impassive look with a sneer.

If her speech now had hurt his feelings, he hid it. More likely it had been a blow to his pride and he was not showing her any vulnerability because he was an arrogant jackass. And that was just fine! She had agreed to marry him, not love him. When he took her to Faerie it would be with tears, not a smile. Let him not forget it!

“And I will feed myself.” She added hastily as she carried the rack back towards the locker. At least let her be spared at finding a cow head in her bed or something of the like.

When she returned from cleaning the meat and replacing it in the locker her feelings of anger and frustration had somewhat calmed. Naoise was still in human form and perched upon the haystack they had both slept upon. He remained silent as she milked the goat and didn’t look up at her when she sat down next to him.

“Okay. Two things are on the agenda today. I am going to let you go into Lake Santos again.” He glanced at her in surprise, perhaps even relief. Eddie exhaled, it would be best if he didn’t know that decision had also been based on protecting her own sanity. Now that she could have it, all she wanted was distance from him. _‘Or is it that hateful to you to think I could be more than a monster to you?’_ It was, and it was dangerous too.

“But, first, I need you to enchant this.” She showed him the glass bracelet she had purchased in North Vale. He slid his fingers across the beads and looked thoroughly unimpressed.

“Why?” He asked.

“I want you to make it flash purple when someone sees someone they’re in love with, specifically, Kelly Seele when she sees Matthew.” Eddie explained.

“Why?” he asked again with a creeping frown.

“Because! It will be like! A visual statement of their love! You know? But lighted with their own feelings!” Eddie tried to explain as she waved her arms.

“No, I will not do that.” Naoise looked away.

“What?” Was this a childish refusal because she had told him being nice to her was not going to win her heart? Eddie clenched her jaw at the thought she may have just made things more difficult for herself, but she was not going to forget her promise to Dougal to not use Naoise’s vulnerability against him.

“You told me that they were already in love, why would they need such a thing?” He scoffed. Eddie sighed, was he really just insulted? He crossed his arms over his chest and confirmed her theory. “I would not use my magic for such a petty reason.”

Well as she had laid down her own terms and conditions for this deal, he was now doing the same. Eddie exhaled, and now she had to put something better on the table.

“You don’t get it!” Eddie huffed. She stood up. “Okay, but never mind my reasons. Kelly is Regan’s sister, right? That means there would be that small amount of your magic with her. Wouldn’t that be good for you? If you could enchant it so Regan never notices it either?”

“—But you can’t use it as a way to harm or hurt him or her!” she quickly added as soon as she saw the idea cross his face. He looked up at her with his usual unreadable expression but he opened his hand to her. She dropped the bracelet down and he closed his hand around it. When he opened it the beads were shinning with a soft purple glow. Was it the after-effect of being enchanted or was it because the kelpie was looking upon his beloved? They became as dull as dead glass in Eddie’s hands and she quickly set them into her pocket.

“Thank you,” she told him and he nodded. She offered her hand to him. “Okay. Let me dress and then we’ll head towards the lake.”

He took it and within her hand, for a few seconds, she held the weight of her responsibility. It was cold as death and it was staring her down. She swallowed it down and stood tall before it. She would not give up this burden.

For it was hers, and no one else’s.

 

 

After his morning in his lake to rejuvenate his tired bones and decaying veins she came to him with another scheme in mind. He supposed it would have been too much to ask that he even have a day to himself to re-secure his environs. Though nothing could be done about the ruptured seal the waters still needed his presence to remain pristine and unharmed.

“Shall I call you sister?” Dougal asked Eddie when she had approached them both on the lakeshore.

“I…I guess you can,” she murmured as she pushed some of her hair behind her ear. Naoise didn’t know how to feel about her resignation.

Dougal had come to visit him to confirm he had been enslaved again. While he had insisted he didn’t think even Naoise deserved to be enslaved, he had kept to his careful involvement in the other kelpie’s affairs. Naoise knew his brother had given Eddie the ring Regan had stolen, but surely only because MacGregor had asked him to. Dougal would not punish the girl, and he had no right to. Human siblings could have such colluded relationships but Dougal had to respect Naoise’s autotomy.

Dougal patted her shoulder and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“My ring…if you throw it into running water it will summon me. We’re family now. And that ability is a fair exchange I believe, for what you have sacrificed to fulfill my brother’s wish.”

“I, I have to tell you! I lost your ring! Or, rather, Regan stole it. I’m so sorry!” She gasped.

“Och, don’t be.” Dougal waved his hand.

“But don’t you want it back?” Eddie cried.

“I’ll get it back, one way or the other.” Dougal had sighed. He glanced at Naoise and gave a small smile. The ring had been meant to sabotage the prince and assure his victory. Naoise wondered if Eddie would be so chagrined at the loss if she had known Dougal had also conspired to see her enslaved.

Nevertheless the ring remained a valuable asset, and one Naoise knew Eddie would endeavor to have returned, as Dougal did.

“Here.” She tossed a red, long-sleeved top at him. It was of light woven wool. It was followed by a pair of dark pants and shoes with ties. “Wear these tonight and tomorrow. We’re going to the fair too.”

Naoise could only sigh at the thought of being around so many humans again. He had been to many a fair for the local populace of them to gawk at him and his kin. Nothing good had ever happened at one.

“Why the fair?” he asked even as he tried to suppress a growl of distaste in his throat.

“Because Regan will be there.”

“And what does Regan Seele do there?” He asked.

“Smirk at everyone,” Eddie dryly supposed. Her tense hands however belied her anxiety at the thought of confronting the enchanter. Naoise licked his lips at the same thought.

“And what is happening tonight?” He asked.  
“Dinner. You’re going to meet my family.” She cringed. “As my boyfriend.”  
She waved her hands at Naoise’s bemused expression. “I can’t just disappear, okay? They’ll think I died and that would break their hearts, or they’ll spend the rest of their lives looking for me and I couldn’t stand the thought of it. This way I can pretend we eloped because Matt didn’t like you. They won’t have to worry about me.”  
Naoise closed his eyes. Not in regret, for all this frustration and indignity guaranteed Eddie would be his wife. If he must participate in a charade to keep her happy by keeping her conscience soothed; he would. Nevertheless in all the years he had been the chattel of the MacGregor clan Naoise had never done anything as insipid as attend a family dinner.

As chattel however he had almost never been summoned in human form. The MacGregors had had no use for him as a speaking man. He had been their prized mount and workhorse. A progenitor of their line of war mounts. Only Ulysses had allowed Dougal and he to speak to him as men, and great disaster had come to him.

This was all new to him as well.

“I will join you for dinner, but not the fair.” Dougal announced. He smirked at Naoise. Naoise ignored the great ass.

“I…er….didn’t bring any clothes for you…” Eddie frowned.

“Not needed! You see unlike Naoise I am fine with just enchanting a human to think I look like one of them. He just doesn’t think of it!” Dougal pointed at him with a laugh. Naoise snarled in response while Eddie raised her hands to keep the peace.

In the end it was decided to bring Dougal along if only because the presence of a brother would make Naoise seem even more human. The irony was perhaps not lost on both kelpies. Dougal however saw the evening as an opportunity to entertain himself. Naoise felt he had to indulge him for no feeling of affection. It was because Dougal, as fae, could smell the blood-pact, something more sinister than even the bridle. If he was placated he would not tell MacGregor of it.

So he, Eddie, and Dougal came to be standing on the outermost ranges of the Double M Ranch as the sun set. They were standing within feet of the pond Naoise had meant to use as an entrance to the Land of the Ever-young. It was the path they had used to travel from Lake Santos. He refused to put on the shoes just yet. For Eddie was using this time to make the pair rehearse.

“Okay, Naoise, what is your back-story again?” she asked.

“My name is Naoise Burne, I am twenty-seven years old. I work at home as an outside tech consultant. I have a Bachelor’s in Communications from USC. I was born in Edinburg but I decided to become a citizen after attending school. I have a ‘green card’. I met you at a café in North Vale.”

Eddie raised her eyebrows. Her surprise at his perfect speech needled him.

“I can pass perfectly fine for a man! I have lived amongst your folk for centuries!” He snapped.

“Oh yeah while schmaltzing around the room like an arrogant jerk, I’m sure! What you pulled that day at the café was enough! Everyone will remember your face now because of what a dick you were then! You have, like, no subtlety whatsoever,” Eddie deadpanned. Dougal guffawed at her scorn and perhaps Naoise’s miffed expression. Her clenched fists however belied her attempt to be sardonic. She stood up. “So meet me halfway so it isn’t a total disaster tonight!”

“And what would you have me do?” he met her gaze readily.

“Be _courteous_ if you cannot be nice. Be polite. Matt is going to try to bait you so don’t rise to it even if it hurts your pride!” She challenged. He snorted at her.

“And I am your older brother! I live as a traveling musician, but thankfully for a few months I have stopped in this hamlet!” Dougal proclaimed, obviously taking this as some sort of game. Eddie just wearily nodded at him and that enraged Naoise further.

“Why does _he_ get to choose who he is?!” He demanded.

“Because I don’t have any control over _him_ ,” Eddie sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Okay! And besides Matthew there is Mindy, La-La and Tom. Mindy and Tom don’t talk much but Mindy will probably ask you a few questions. La-La only speaks Spanish so…” Eddie threw up her hands. “Just be _nice_ , okay?”

“I thought the point of this was to make your brother hate me,” Naoise reminded her with a furrowed brow.

“Oh he’s going to hate you anyway,” Eddie waved her hand. “No matter what.”

“Why would he hate me, if he doesn’t know what I am?” the kelpie asked. Eddie raised her face up and gave him a scathingly incredulous look.

“Because you’re an asshole,” She said flatly and let him fill all the space she had left with indignation. Eddie cut him off before he could speak again. “He knows you’re the dickhead from the café since you already said you can’t change your glamour—“

“No,” Naoise narrowed his eyes. It had been set the second a human had first looked upon him. Dougal confirmed this with a nod.

“And that’s reason enough to hate you.” She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. She bowed her head. “I need to build this up, you know? If he thinks I just eloped it won’t be as hard on him….”

Eddie dropped her head down, but he had seen the brittle expression she was trying to hide. “I told him I was with you all last night. And it wasn’t a lie, was it?”

“Are you going to cry again?” he wished she would stop doing so. He had absolutely no idea what to do for her when she did. It made him feel helpless and that carried all the weight of his years of bondage. Eddie shook her head.

“No, it does nothing, and I’ve made my choice.” She looked up at him with a hard expression in her eyes. “I didn’t tell him we’re engaged, not yet, because that would make his head explode. But he needs to meet you. So, let’s go!”

She led the charge across the property. She had invited them onto it, so the carved signs gave no resistance. Nevertheless they still needed to be invited into the main house.

The wind picked up from the mountains and brought a cold shiver with it. Naoise recalled the warning of the asparas, the heavenly swan maidens of the mountains, when he had reclaimed Lake Santos. Their usual haunt was the high perches in the mountains. They lived amongst the wealthy and elite humans in that area. Every once in a while they lured a man to his death as was their prerogative. Nevertheless they certainly were not above squawking their opinions to the other spirits. Not in any sort of camaraderie, but rather in the malice that was their nature.

_He’s trapped within love’s ardor_

_Foolish beast, reach your hands around her neck_

_Not for a kiss or peck_

_Drag her into the waters and let her drown_

_Or she’ll have your crown._

Such was their divine refrain. It had not fallen on deaf ears. Nevertheless they rejoiced in the death of anything that could weaken a guardian. Lake Santos was an important confluence of the region. They had also lent their voices in support of him to drowning all those humans decades before.

Eddie was walking ahead of him. Her dark hair trailed down to between her shoulder blades in a loose tie. For a second his fingers ached to free those strands and feel them wind over his fingers like water. To see her look at him for just a second without the fear and derision. He knew however for her to reciprocate he would have to look upon her as something more than someone who tormented him. And he could not give up that last strength.

Dougal saw his preoccupied expression and simpered. The warning had been delivered earlier upon his lips however.

“She has spoken to Regan Seele.” He had told Naoise in the isolation of the deep lake waters. “I heard them just yesterday by my river. This is what he wanted most of all.”

He wasn’t out of danger, not by far.

They encountered an old man by the barn, smoking a cigarette. He looked like a peasant who had spent many years in the sun and working with his hands. He tipped the wide brim of his hat as they approached.

“’Lo, Eddie.” He greeted.

“Hello, Tom. This is Naoise Burne, and his brother, Dougal. They’ll be joinin’ us for dinner.” Eddie introduced them.

“Mm.” Tom nodded and shook both of their hands. If he found their flesh cold and damp he gave no indication. He went back to smoking his cigarette until Dougal spoke to him.

“I am a traveling musician! My brother is an outside tech consultant. We’re from Scotland.” He beamed. Tom blinked and wiped his mustache in response. Eddie cleared her throat and pushed both of them forward.

“Save it for Matthew,” she hissed. She pushed them towards a shared yard bordered on three sides by two homes and the barn. She guided them towards the back door of the front house. At the foot of the steps she stepped around them and walked up to open the door.

“And you’re both invited in.” She told them both. The barrier dissolved and Naoise wondered again if Eddie had any true inkling of what she was doing. Both he and Dougal would always have access to this home.

“Eddie is that you?” A woman’s voice called. Naoise recognized Mindy by the force of her personality alone. She had impressed it into many corners of her home and property. She was not a large woman as her personality may have dictated, but rail-thin and of the same sun-browned complexion of the man outside. She put her hands on her hips and looked the pair of faeries up and down.

“Some nice, strapping boys you are.” She approved. She blinked as she noticed Naoise’s hair however. “But you’re soakin’ wet! What happened? Did you fall into a puddle?”

Dougal stepped between them. He put his hand on Mindy’s shoulder and grinned at her.

“It’s just the light.” She blinked and absorbed the enchantment. Naoise felt Eddie tense besides him. Nevertheless Eddie had spoken the truth earlier. She had control over him, but not Dougal.

They were joined by a second woman, shorter, plumper, and darker than the first. Eddie introduced her as “La-La”. She spoken a different language than the other humans, but as fae Naoise could readily understand any human language and be understood in any human language.

“Oh yes how handsome! No wonder Eddie is never home now!” She laughed and Eddie blushed. “But you should have been home now! Mindy and I have been cooking all this food alone!”

“I’m sorry.” Eddie responded in her own language. “I’ll help with dishes.”

“Eh, no, make him help me!” La-La pointed at Naoise.

“I will.” He responded in La-La’s tongue. She seemed delighted he could speak it. Or she thought he did anyway. Eddie looked surprised he had offered which needled him again. Had she not asked him to be nice?

“Where are you from? I love that accent, let me hear it again!” La-La began to question him. Naoise started to answer but they were interrupted by the front door opening. Matthew came in, covered in grease and sweat. He didn’t look pleased to see Naoise, and was outright confounded to see another one of him.

“Matt!” Eddie glided up to her older brother. She took his hands after he had removed his dirty gloves. “This is Naoise Burne, and his brother, Dougal.”

“Naoise?” The man narrowed his eyes. “Is he the one who….?”

“I am Dougal Burne!” Matthew backed up a few steps when Dougal lunged for him. “I am a traveling musician, adept at guitar and harp. I can also play the piano. Naoise is my younger brother. We’re from Scotland!”

“Ah…nice to meet you?” Matthew looked very doubtful of this however. Dougal’s attention however distracted him from Naoise. He thankfully took his seat between Eddie and La-la at the table when dinner was called. Though this also sat him directly across from Matthew. Matthew however was joined by Tom and Dougal, with Mindy at the head of the table.

“So, Naoise, what do you do for work?” Matthew started as soon as he could before the food was even on the plates.

“I am an outside tech consultant,” he told Matthew as Eddie cautiously spooned some vegetables onto his plate. She gave him a side-long glance. “I work from home.”

“You have some education then?” Matthew pretended to be interested loading his own plate.

“I have a Bachelors in Communications from USC.” His brow furrowed as he heard Eddie exhale besides him. Dougal laughed from his end of the table. Apparently La-La had redirected her questions at him, one apparently a good substitute for the other.

“Then how much do you make a year?”

“How much what?” He asked. Eddie slammed her hand down on his thigh, which made Naoise jump. Her attention was directed at her brother however.

“Matt!” She desperately laughed. “Isn’t that a little bit _personal_?!”

He gave her a supercilious look. “I have a right to know.”

“No, you _don’t_ ,” Eddie seethed through a clenched jaw. She removed her hand from Naoise’s thigh. She lowered her voice to a hiss but Naoise still made out the words. “You didn’t ask Jai that-!”

“Jai Darzi?” Naoise asked and felt a twinge of heat go down his spine. When had the prince been here?!

“Jai Darzi,” Matthew confirmed with a smirk. He raised his chin at Naoise. “I hope you didn’t think you were Eddie’s only boyfriend! Yeah, nice guy with a nice car. And certainly not dressed like he just stepped out of the thrift shop!”

“ _Matt_!” Eddie fumed. “You didn’t like Jai either!”

“Liked him better than _him_ -!” Her brother countered. “Isn’t he the one who-?!”

“I am Eddie’s one and only.” Naoise said staunchly, if only to affirm it to himself. Eddie opened her mouth in abject horror. He ignored her, was this not her own intention? La-La and Dougal fell silent at the tension at the other end of the table. Mindy even raised her head. Tom alone continued eating. He raised his chin at the gaping Matthew. “She told me so herself.”

He put his arm around her to confirm himself. Eddie tensed but didn’t, or couldn’t, pull out of the embrace. She swallowed and gave him a heated glare. The next second however she gave her brother a shaky smile.

“Y-yeah,” she sighed. Naoise smirked, for after all, she was going to leave even Matthew for him one day. Matthew looked as if he wished to flip the food laden table at this moment.

“Okay. Time to talk about something else, boyos.” Mindy commanded from the head of the table. She glowered at them both. “If you want to brawl you step outside and do it _after_ supper.”

Naoise and Matthew both obeyed her order though neither one of them relaxed nor stopped glaring at one another. Eddie slouched in her seat when Naoise took his arm away. Her face was red and she looked as if she wished to be anywhere else in this moment. Dougal took the opportunity to waylay any more aggression by telling a story for the rest of the meal.

It was the coded story of MacGregor and his bride Lily. A man with eternal youth who had found a mortal bride after much suffering. He had even asked a spirit to craft a magic ring that would protect his bride from the disguises of spirits. The day his bride died in a car accident her ring had slipped off her finger and into flowing water, for that day had been one of a catastrophic rain storm. When the faerie had arrived however the young woman was already dead, and even he could do nothing to revive her.

It was then the man who would never age had lost all hope.

Eddie was enraptured with the story and kept caressing where the ring once sat on her finger. Naoise almost asked Dougal to tell the story of him and Tam. For his brother was instilling in his bride a moral obligation to get that cursed ring back. Nevertheless by the time Dougal was done the supper was over. Neither he, nor the other kelpie, had eaten anything.

Matthew scraped back his chair on the hardwood floor. He pointed his finger into Naoise’s face, He spoke before anyone else could interrupt him.

“Are you the guy who came into the café and harassed her?!” he demanded. Naoise narrowed his eyes at the accusing finger.

“Aye.” He saw no reason to lie. Eddie gasped and put her hand on his arm.

“He apologized, okay?” She told Matthew. “He came here to make amends!”

Naoise gaped at her. She had told him to act a certain way all evening and at every turn she had frustrated his efforts. What was she doing?! Did she mean for her brother to hate him or not? She had just told a lie!

“Outside. _Now_.” Matthew seethed and shrugged off his jacket.

“Naoise you will do no such thing!” Eddie cried and the bridle tightened around his throat. He was compelled to obey. Eddie turned back towards her brother in a panic.

“Leave it Matt!”

“I won’t!” he snapped.

“Naoise is a really good fighter! He’ll fuck you up!” She cried.

At last Eddie’s actions began to make sense. She was afraid Naoise would harm her brother in a fight. That was why she had been trying to defuse the tension instead of building it. She only wanted Matthew to dislike Naoise not have them become physical with each other. Naoise put a hand on her shoulder.

“So am I!” Matthew bellowed. Dougal stepped forward and reached for Matthew’s shoulders to force him to look into his eyes.

“It’s nay something to get excited about—“

“Dougal, don’t interfere!” Eddie gasped. Dougal paused and blinked at her. She was nearly in tears. Naoise whispered into her ear.

“You made me promise to assure your brother’s happiness. Wounding him in a fight would be counter to that.” He reassured her. She glanced at him. “Trust me.”

“Would you boys make up your minds so we can clear the table?” Mindy acridly asked.

Eddie glanced at her aunt and slowly nodded. Naoise looked Matthew in the eyes.

“Let’s go outside.” Matthew punched one hand into the palm of the other in agreement. Eddie followed nervously and Dougal drifted over in anticipation. Matthew led him back into the yard, now clear of fowl and lit only by a single light on the barn. They stood about three paces apart, facing one another. Matthew raised his fists and Naoise mimicked the gesture. He had seen human males fight each other enough times.

“Fists only, no weapons,” Was Matthew’s only rule. Naoise nodded in acquiescence. Eddie was tense on the step and covered her mouth with her hands. Dougal put his arm around her to comfort her.

Naoise let Matthew have the first strike. Then the next, and the next. He blocked the assaults aimed at his head and belly with his arms. Though Matthew could never hope to wound him through his glamour, Naoise could appreciate the man was a quick and strong brawler. He could never move as fast as a faerie however and Dougal laughed when he realized what Naoise was doing. He let Matthew wear himself out to where it seemed like he wouldn’t be as interested in continuing the fight. It was then Naoise let Matthew land a blow to his stomach.

Which did bring him to his knees, because he was surprised it actually knocked the wind out of him. He fell gasping at Matthew’s feet. He was glad he could trust Matthew was not the sort to strike at an opponent when he was down.

“Satisfied?” he wheezed. He looked up to see Matthew nod. The man wiped the sweat from his brow. When he had caught his breath the man offered a hand to help Naoise to his feet. He kept his hold on Naoise’s hand to look squarely into his eyes.

“Remember this,” he warned. He let Naoise go and without even looking at his sister he turned on his heel and disappeared into the smaller home. Eddie rushed over to Naoise as he stood in the darkness, a little dazed from the fight. He winced as she closed her arms around his waist as he was still somewhat sore from Matthew’s punch to the gut. He didn’t push her away however, and instead closed his arms around her. She softly wept into his chest. Her shoulders trembled against him.

“Thank you, thank you, Naoise.” She gasped. He didn’t answer but instead soothed her and himself by stroking her hair. It was as fine as water through his fingers. When she at last looked up at him with shinning cheeks and red eyes, he never thought her lovelier.

He thought for a second of kissing her salty lips but he knew he shouldn’t become too comfortable. This was a woman who had warned him away from trying to capture her heart. Their bind was nothing but mutual cruelty.

“I told you I could be trusted.” he gently reminded her. She swallowed and nodded at him.

“Yes,” she pushed away from him. He let her go with as little regret as he could.

_’She’ll have your crown.’_  
“Not a good precedent to set, brother.” Dougal snickered at him from the shadows. For now Naoise let himself ignore the warning.

“I’m sorry.” She wiped her eyes. “This is all so new still I guess. We’re just getting to know one another, for real.”

“Did I do well tonight?” He asked softly. Eddie blinked at his question and slowly smiled.

“Yeah.”

“See?” He raised his chin. “I told you I could pass perfectly fine for a man!”

Her outraged expression was one of his most cherished memories of the evening.

She hotly divorced herself from him with an order he was to go home. He could only obey. She warned him however she would be returning for him in the morning for the fair. He was never to have peace ever again.

“Humans, they’re such fragile things, aren’t they?” Dougal laughed before he also parted company from Naoise. He smiled knowingly at Naoise’s downturned mouth.

“I have always told you that is why they are so lovely.”

Naoise didn’t answer a creature whose favorite love story ended in death. And perhaps because neither he, nor Naoise, could ever know that comforting end to love. As he swam in the lake that night he recalled the feeling of her hair through his fingers.

It would have surely been easier to move the stars


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naoise and Eddie go to the fair! Regan of course shows up to be smug, as Eddie predicted. When Naoise aggravates him by telling Eddie the story of Regan's mother Rhona shows she's not just a very impressive piece of furniture. In the end however the night belongs to the human woman and the faerie man as Naoise at last begins to open up to Eddie.

Naoise met Eddie as he had promised, perched upon the back fence of Hoeller’s Grove. The property had once been an epicenter of citrus farming. Nevertheless while some orange trees did cluster in the corners and the old farm house was bordered by a massive vegetable and flower garden, most of the land had been cleared for community use when the old farmer had willed the property to the town. The great open fields hosted not just the yearly fair but minor swap meets and the yearly Christmas and Easter celebrations. The old barn would serve as the pavilion for the dance on Sunday.

“You know when I first met Dougal he was doing the same thing,” the kelpie raised his eyebrow at her. “You fae do a lot of sun worshiping.”

Naoise only sighed at her as he leapt down off the fence. He took the pies she had brought from her. They were to man the booth for the local women’s club, who fundraised for the local women’s shelter with a pie sale. He indicated for her to walk ahead of him so he could follow. Apparently his private indulgences were not to muse over.

“I have to go register, all right?” She pointed at the line forming at the first booth after they had walked around to the open gate. Naoise was content to stand coolly behind her, not making eye contact with anyone, perhaps perfectly passing for a self-absorbed boyfriend. He didn’t reach for her, and Eddie kept her thoughts to herself.

"Eddie!" her dark thoughts were unclouded by a flash of vibrant red coming towards her. Dressed in tight jeans and a flattering white top with the sunlight enflaming her hair, Sarah was brilliant in her resplendent joy. Eddie opened her body up and caught the other young woman.

Sarah noticed Naoise however as she pulled away. "You!"

They were all three to share the booth. Eddie had forgotten to warn Sarah in her anxiety with introducing Naoise to Matthew. She hadn’t contemplated how Sarah would accept her new “boyfriend”. She tugged at Sarah’s sleeve but the other woman ignored her.

"Me." Naoise tilted his head, obviously uncertain why exactly he was receiving such a dirty look.

"That asshole from the cafe!" Sarah let Eddie go to thrust an accusing finger in Naoise's face. Naoise looked hopelessly confused but Eddie had the sign-in form shoved at her the same second.

"What are you doing here you stalker? I'll call the police on you if you've come to harass my Eddie again!" she threatened, putting her hands on her hips and shoving her ample chest forward.

"Yours?" Naoise stepped back and scowled. "Are you a rival then?"

"I'll rival you up the ass dicknuts if you don't fuck off—" Eddie quickly put her hands on Sarah's shoulders and drew her away from Naoise and the rest of the line with all their startled staring.

"He's with me." Eddie whispered into her friend's ear. Sarah looked back in shock and Eddie felt her stomach clench in shame. "Naoise is going to mind his manners."

She smiled softly with a look of pure deceit. "You know me Sarah. I would not go out with a dick. Naoise promised me he do better, and he has."

Sarah turned properly around to give Eddie a long look. After several seconds of incredulity however she closed her eyes and nodded, swallowing the bitter pill her friend had just fed her. She wrapped her arms around Eddie's shoulders to whisper in her ear.

"I trust you, but not him. I'll play nice for as long as he does," she warned and Eddie nodded, catching the other young woman's elbows as she pulled away to hold her close for a few seconds longer.

"The pie booth ready?"

"Yeah." Sarah glanced over her shoulder at Naoise. "Hey, ‘Nee-shaw’ was it? Grab that pie will you?"

To her surprise he obliged Sarah's request with no sneering. Instead he approached with a rare curious expression. He then ruined any possible benign intentions by leaning right into Sarah's face. The other girl stiffened but only held Eddie tighter.

"You're from that day," He realized, he straightened up and glanced at Eddie before addressing Sarah again. "You dislike me."

Sarah's eyebrow rose at such a stark statement but was willing to match it with her own, "Yes."

"Pretend that you don't," Naoise suggested with perfect insouciance.

Sarah jerked with outrage. "I'll do no such thing!"

"Why?"

“Because you don't get to tell me, or Eddie, what to do!" She snapped and Naoise narrowed his eyes. Eddie suppressed a groan that the terms of Sarah's good will had apparently already been broken. They weren’t even at the booth yet!

"You would do it just for spite?" He glanced at Eddie. "No wonder you two get along so well."  
Sarah stiffened, and then despite herself started giggling. Eddie relaxed about three hairs and then went to grab Naoise by the elbow to steer him towards the booth.

"We're a regular pair," Sarah sighed as she took Eddie's other arm. "I hope she makes lots of trouble for you."

"Not anymore," Naoise said wryly and looked away when Eddie looked at him. They took their places within the modest booth. After being instructed by the head of the shelter how they were to handle the money they were left alone.

The day passed with a remarkable, albeit tense, peace. Customers flowed by at a steady pace, Naoise did not speak to any of them but everyone stared at his dark eyes and seemed to suppress some primal shiver. Sarah and Eddie spoke of whatever trivial matter came to mind, and while Eddie felt comforted by speaking about such irrelevant things such as who was pregnant, the latest drama on television, and if water really did flow counter-clockwise in the southern hemisphere, she felt as if she was performing. Not for Naoise's benefit, who seemed to only wander back into the conversation from time to time as his eyes marched across the stream of humanity before him, but for Sarah. Loving Sarah who really thought her friend would still be here when she came home from school at winter break.

Despite this pained undertone in her answers and observations Eddie was as affable a companion as ever. Sarah spoke with her usual relish and zeal, even about her inability to use a stick shift.

“Hey isn’t that the crack-head from the café?” Sarah wondered at the passing man with a mane of red hair. Eddie held her breath that MacGregor had overheard her friend as he walked up. He passed by with Yusuf in tow, they were either carefully ignoring her or truly hadn’t seen her. She found it hard to believe however they could ignore the kelpie right behind her. She exhaled as they approached the stage in the middle of the fair, well of course they also be here.

“It is,” Eddie carefully said as MacGregor climbed the stairs to stand on the stage. That morning the stage had been hosting a variety of storytellers, from Native American legends to East Asian myths and local historians. It had been background noise to their conversations but now Eddie leaned out of the booth to try to better hear. Sarah was also curious as to what tale the “crack-head” may weave.

Eddie winced at MacGregor’s slight lean against the stand that could not possibly support his weight. It started to fall forwards but he caught it and steadied himself. He swallowed but spoke with perfect clarity to begin his story.

“Long ago in Eire there was a great warrior named Fionn MacCool. He had a son named Oisín, a great bard. That’s a storyteller boys and girls,” he beamed at the wondering children at his feet. “Now Oisín was so handsome and talented that a faerie princess fell in love with him, and her name was Niamh. She came to him one day upon a white horse and said, ‘My lovely man you are far too beautiful to ever grow old. Come and live with me in Tir Na Nog, the Kingdom under the Waves. You will live like a prince and be young forever with me.’”

Here MacGregor paused, letting suspense build for his tale. Eddie felt a sudden stab of sadness that perhaps MacGregor had wished to be something other than a savior to a decayed family line once. He had obvious skill upon the stage, letting his accumulated despair and rot fall away to reveal a joyful man of a straight back and step.

“Oisín could not refuse his lady, and for a long time lived happily with her in Tir Na Nog. However he began to miss his family and friends. He asked Niamh if he may visit our land again. She said ‘yes’, but only if he rode her white horse and only if he agreed to never touch the ground. He promised her he would do both. He returned to our land. However he could not find his clan, or even his people. The land and the people there were totally different, and he found all those he had ever known had died hundreds of years before.”

He paused to let the horror of such a thing sink in. Eddie felt her heart descend into her pelvis, where it beat against her spine. She closed her eyes. She felt Naoise standing behind her but he gave her no comfort. Once she left, she would never ask to see her family ever again. She promised herself this, no matter how great her despair came.

“Oisín told the people he met of his father and clan, and of Tir Na Nog and Niamh. Once done, he leapt off of his enchanted horse.” Eddie opened her eyes. “And once his feet touched the ground he became dust as all the years he had been gone fell upon him.”

There was a deadening silence from the audience. The tales shared by others had been intended to delight the children, not warn them of accepting gifts from the spirits. MacGregor’s intent was clear and Eddie looked away. It was too late for her, but not for these young ones.

“He got what he deserved.” Eddie looked up in surprise. Sarah furrowed her brow as she mused over the story with pursed lips.

"He paid the price for just going off with some stranger promising him riches and youth I say, and seemed to realize how selfish he was in the end." The young woman completed her thought and put her hands on her hips. Eddie felt her heart leap into her throat and choke her. She looked down at her feet to hide her red cheeks. _Selfish, selfish…._

Naoise could not do worse to her than what she could to herself.

"Mm," Eddie nodded, for she knew it was true.

"You feel all right sweety?" Sarah asked in concern. Eddie swallowed and look up.

"I'm fine," Eddie waved her hand, shaking her head in feigned surprise.

"You've just been very quiet today." Sarah frowned.

"No I just agree with everything you said so…" She shrugged. She suppressed a sigh and the urge to weep. She knew why MacGregor had told the story, but he likely wouldn’t have if he knew about the pact. She didn’t think he would be so cruel to her.

"The princess tricked him." Naoise suddenly cut into the conversation and both of them gave him startled looks.

"Niamh did not tell him about the warping of time between the worlds because she knew he would not go with her if she had," He explained. "She was the selfish one, and paid the price for lying."

"Oh, so neither one of them were good, I'll buy that!" Sarah said with a derisive laugh. Eddie however gave Naoise a searching look. She looked away when he turned his head towards her. It didn't matter now.

"We all have our own interpretation of the story," MacGregor's voice sauntered into the booth, himself happily bobbling up. "Good afternoon to you bonny lasses and sir. Perhaps you’ll be interested in buying a copy of my tales when I have it.”

“You’re an author?” Eddie asked in surprise. Yusuf was drifting along in the background, as he often did. Eddie didn’t acknowledge him because she was uncertain if he was pretending to not be with MacGregor this time around.

“Of other people’s tales, aye,” he peered at her over the rim of his sunglasses with his habitually blood-shot eyes. “How have you been getting along lass?”

“You two know each other?” Sarah’s eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. Thankfully she kept quiet on MacGregor’s “crack-head” status.

“He knows Naoise,” Eddie explained and her friend smirked.

“We’ve been fine,” she answered.

“Been minding your manners lad?” MacGregor asked and Naoise sneered at him. A shadow fell across the booth as a tall woman approached them. Only women in the habit of wearing heels daily would walk in them on sod. Eddie knew her before she even said her name.

"Oh, Edith, is that you?" Katharine Seele sniffed. She was a swan amongst geese, preened and contemptuous. She was frowning from behind her oversized sunglasses, finding the female half of the Moreno siblings was a displeasing discovery. Perhaps she had hoped they had either left the area or had simply disappeared in a cloud of smoke and her stepdaughter dating the male half had just been a bad dream.

"Yes. Good afternoon Mrs. Seele," Eddie tried to greet very politely. She paused in raising a hand as the pointed face of the daughter appeared from behind the torso of the mother. Gwen however was either truly or tactfully preoccupied with the screen of her smart phone.

"Good day ma’am,” MacGregor greeted and Mrs. Seele slightly tilted her head in the most vaguely polite gesture possible, and likely because of the heavy smell of alcohol on his breath. She paused however as she looked at the man’s face and lowered her glasses to get a better look at him. MacGregor smiled easily at the inspection, “I am Ewan MacGregor, the son of Ulysses, Regan and Kelly’s great uncle. I suppose Regan had not told you I was stateside.”

“Oh.” She pushed the glasses back up and pursed her lips. Whatever she thought of the family of her husband’s first wife remained behind her lips. She simply nodded. “Hello then Mr. Ewan, do come to the dance on Sunday. It is by Regan’s charity this year.”

Sarah snorted at the exchange and for the first time Gwen looked up. Sarah glowered at her and Gwen returned a scowl before returning to her phone. Eddie in the meantime made the mental note to stay far away from “Katharine the Great” (as Sarah called her) and not get caught between her and Regan on Sunday night. Regan’s charity was the only reason they were here in support, Eddie was certain. She had already detected a tension between stepmother and stepson that seemed to consist of icy glances and terse exchanges. She was not familiar enough with the family to detect the true nature of the relationship, and would rather never be.

And it was apparent enough Gwen would also rather be anywhere else right now. Though if this was due to her mother’s behavior, a dislike for Regan, or a simple case of superiority over the denizens of Orangeblossom, Eddie couldn’t tell. This was only the second time she had ever seen the girl she had never spoken to.

Mrs. Seele turned fully towards Eddie again as “Ewan” excused himself but Eddie knew that, like Yusuf, he would remain close-by.

"Charity?" Mrs. Seele prompted.

"Ah, yes, for the Women’s Group," Eddie shrugged a little. Sarah had retreated to the opposite corner to watch with narrowed eyes. Eddie haphazardly picked up a nearby pie. "I think Mrs. Kyles made this one, it's an apple I think."

As if someone who lived in Los Angeles and worked there knew any of the people of Orangeblossom.

"I will take twelve, any sort, I am hosting a dinner later tonight," the woman informed them. Sarah and Eddie glanced at each other and with small shrugs began picking up pies and assembling them to be bagged. Katharine the Great watched over their progress. She occasionally made a comment on how to set the pies a top one another without being squished or bag them without damaging the crusts and other small things. It made the overall suggestion the vendors had never seen a pie or a bag in their lives. As her mother ever so carefully instructed the help, the woman's daughter made her own discovery.

"Oh, who are you?" she breathed, getting a full look at Naoise as he stepped forward as Eddie shooed him away from a mincemeat pie.

"Naoise, Burne," he added the last name as an afterthought. Eddie glanced over warily as this was the first time Naoise had spoken to a stranger. Mrs. Seele started pointing at where a crust had gotten a piece chipped off and she needed a replacement however and distracted Eddie.

"Y-you live around here?" Gwen asked hopefully.

"Aye."

"Oh mother and I often visit because my stepsister lives here and my stepbrother owns property here. Maybe we can see each other sometime!" Naoise just blinked at this hopeful assertion, it was not a yes or no question so he just shrugged. Eddie couldn’t help but to wince at the very clumsy flirting. Naoise’s lack of concern, and understanding, helped diffuse the situation from a possible disaster to a small embarrassment.

"You should come to the dance on Sunday—"

"Hey! He already is because he's datin' Eddie, you can cancel the pheromones." Sarah groused from her corner, the daughter making an excellent replacement for the mother. "He's too old for you anyway, and a mean one besides."

Gwen’s mouth opened, “W-who are you?!”

“Sarah McAllister,” she gave a small bow. “ _Princess._ ”

“My name is _Gwen_ and don’t you ever talk to me like that again!” The girl snapped as she went red with humiliation. Sarah just smirked; either ignoring Eddie was also red or she was just bolstered by the sight of her friend blushing. “How could they let someone like you work in charity?!”

"Yeah, it’s a wonder,” Sarah laughed.

"Gwen." Her mother said sternly and the girl recoiled away from the booth. Mrs. Seele had apparently not even fully heard the exchange. The woman set her eyes on Eddie however and indicated Naoise. " _He_ is the one you'll be bringing on Sunday?"

"Yeah." Eddie stiffened as Naoise came up from behind, _helpfully_ putting his chin on her shoulder. Mrs. Seele narrowed her eyes at the display.

"So you will be keeping yourself out of trouble then? You do understand this is a very important event for my stepson." The woman pressed. She had the tact however to not mention there would be alcohol at the event.

"I don't want to make any more trouble," Eddie said softly, looking at her boots. This seemed to please the lady who raised her chin in response.

"See that you don't," she warned airily as she took her bags and walked off. Sarah stuck her tongue out, and Naoise did not move away. He glanced at Eddie however from where he lingered.

"Trouble?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she pulled away from him and he did not follow. "That is the new wife of Regan Seele's father though, and her daughter. They'll both be there Sunday."

Naoise looked confused but he at least knew not to ask after Regan's "father" in front of Sarah. Eddie made a note to explain it all to him later. Sarah put her arms around Eddie's waist next.

"Not that Regan is any better," Sarah sniffed. "Oh you just can't get along with them can you? It's almost funny, but they’ve all got their heads up their asses anyway. That girl!”

Yet Sarah’s eyes still lingered on Gwen’s lithe form as she retreated.

"Kelly is fine," Eddie sighed.

"Oh, yes," Sarah snorted affectionately. "Matthew asked her yet?"

"…He will soon." Eddie knew this in her heart. She looked up at Naoise who refused to look at her. For a second she thought she saw something like disgust in his dark eyes.

It was probably only her own however, forever reflecting back at her.

 

 

As the darkness crawled across the sky and a chill lingered in its wake, Eddie huddled ever closer to Sarah as they drifted towards the fair center after closing down the booth. Dinner had been circumspect beyond Eddie very painstakingly trying to get the rarest piece of steak from the cook for Naoise. The man had let it go still bleeding and the kelpie had seemed satisfied enough even with Sarah grimacing in disgust the whole time.

"That man can really stomach anything." Sarah snorted. Eddie just raised her eyes towards the dim and vacant sky above through the light of the stadium lights overhead and bonfires.

Through the smoke they found the stage again. It was once again the arena of the storytellers after being used for the showing and judging of vegetables and baked goods in the afternoon. She glanced at Naoise who stood behind her like a shadow but even with flickering flames reflecting in his eyes she could find no interest, sympathy, or even acknowledgement of the stories.

"Such a sight," The reason Eddie has dragged a kelpie into such a pedestrian event stepped out from the shadows. Regan Seele beamed, he was in dressed in a green sweater and slacks. Naoise exhaled and Eddie stepped away from Sarah to put herself between the fae and the half blood.

"You are looking very lovely this evening Miss Moreno and you too…Miss, ah, you're the McAllister girl aren't you?" Sarah stiffly nodded, but she did not reply to even give her name. Regan shrugged and looked over Eddie's head at the kelpie.

"And Naoise.” He beamed. A small, black poodle appeared at his feet. Eddie took a step back as she recognized the familiar. The dog shook his ears and his rhinestone collar jingled. His red leash was held by the fae woman Eddie had seen in Regan’s home. Eddie inhaled sharply, and above the woman’s full breasts, against the skin exposed by the swoop neckline of her green dress, was Dougal’s ring upon a chain.

“Eddie?” Sarah asked in concern at her friend’s stiffness. Eddie just shook her head. She knew to not leap for the bait, and she exhaled. She glanced at Naoise but his face was expressionless.

“You have both already met Rhona, my partner,” Regan smirked as he took the hand the fae woman didn’t offer to him. Rhona was as impassive as a mannequin, meant to show off the ring and nothing else. “But not Miss McAllister here. Sally, Rhona.”

“My name is _Sarah_ ,” she at last corrected him and he chortled at her. Rhona didn’t acknowledge her. Sarah sighed at what she probably interpreted as more Seele family arrogance while her friend was having an internal paroxysm.

Regan peered at Eddie curiously but she gave him a flat look. She was not going to play this game with him. He shrugged and returned to the tactic of small talk.

“I suppose Kelly and Matthew have not yet arrived,” Eddie merely shook her head. “Too bad, I do hope they get here in time for the fireworks at least. But I suppose we’ll all get to spend some more time together tomorrow.”

Eddie didn’t meet his smile. If he was disappointed by her lack of response he didn’t show it. If anything he seemed infinitely amused by having total power in the situation. He looked on the verge of just falling into a cascade of giggles. Eddie wished she could launch her fist into his gut.

She just nodded again with a clenched jaw. He beamed, “well see you. I’m sure we’ll all have such fun tomorrow.”

He sauntered off, leaving Eddie shaking in his wake.

“Eddie,” Sarah put her hand on her shoulder. “Come on, I’ve got Stan and Esther Stein waiting for us down by the river—“

“I’m sorry. I can’t,” Eddie said softly. “I have to talk to Naoise. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Sarah stepped back. After a few seconds of shifting surprise and hurt on her face, she nodded. Eddie almost called her back at seeing her slumped shoulders but Naoise laid his cold hand upon her back. He gently turned her towards the darkness.

Once they were beyond the boundaries of the fair, upon the bank of a creek that fed into the Via Verde, she fell upon the ground. She took her anger out upon a rock. She dug it out of the earth and threw it into the creek.

“That son of a _bitch_!” Eddie screamed. Naoise quickly grasped her mouth and waved his other hand, urging her to be quiet.

“The familiar is just over that bank,” He looked towards where brush clustered on the opposite side of the creek. Eddie swallowed and nodded. Naoise walked the few feet down to the creek and knelt down to sink his hands into the water. Eddie stood at the sound of rushing water. She didn’t have time to save her boots but she managed to pull up her skirt as a surge of water swirled around her calves and slowly rose to her knees. There was a yipping from the bushes as the water jumped both banks. The water surged away from her to apparently chase after the familiar, causing a great flood across the way. Naoise motioned for her to stand beside him in the creek, now little more than a shore for the sea swirling in the gullies and copses of the west end of the property. Hopefully no one was out walking this way, though this was an area that was inundated by flash floods.

“I have created a ward, nothing will be able to hear us so long as you remain in this water,” He informed her. Eddie nodded and took advantage of the spell.

“Not that I want you to rough her up or anything, but, can you get that ring from Rhona?” Eddie asked.

“She is what is called a selkie, another kind of fae,” Naoise told her, and he kept his attention out upon the churning sea. “My magic doesn’t work against her, and she has surely been commanded to kill me if I try to take it from her. And this is an order she could never disobey, Regan has her pelt.”

“Her what?”

“Pelt. Her seal skin. Whoever owns a selkie’s pelt, owns the selkie, for that person controls her freedom to return to the open ocean.” Naoise narrowed his eyes but still didn’t look away from the ocean of his own making.

Eddie’s face collapsed into an expression of alarm. “Just how many slaves does this family have?!”

“Rhona was the lover of Regan’s mother, and Rhona gave the pelt to her as a gesture of love, when she died, she chose to not free her.” Naoise looked up and for the first time Eddie understood he would rather be doing anything else than discussing this.

“Lorna Seele did this to her?” Eddie asked softly.

“She was as cruel as any fae can be,” Naoise at last turned to look at her. His mouth was turned down and he lowered his eyes away from her gaze. Eddie reached for his face and his retreat from her touch forced him to look back up at her.

“Any why do you, look so guilty?” she wondered, perhaps even marveled. He quickly stepped back and turned his face away. His body also. The spell apparently broke and the water rushed back into the creek. Eddie leapt up the bank in barely enough time to miss being pulled under by the surging tide. With a cry she chased after Naoise and back into the field.

“Why?!” she demanded again. He paused, looking at the firelight that blazed only a few feet away now.

“I have my own story to tell,” he said quietly. He turned to face her, his face as impassive as ever and his voice held no trace of emotion.

“Lorna MacGregor had a younger brother at the time her people were draining my waters. Dougal killed their crops by flooding the fields, while I took my revenge in human flesh. Lorna MacGregor had been born with Sight, but she didn’t come to care about protecting her people until her younger brother died.”

“Naoise, you didn’t…” Eddie whispered. Regan’s shadow fell across them, amplified by the firelight behind. He had perhaps come to look for his familiar that Naoise may have just drowned. Either way he was surprised to see the kelpie and his bride before him, but he remained still. Naoise glanced back at Eddie’s anxious expression but he continued his story.

“It was simple enough. I lured him upon my back with two other children. The adults dying didn’t seem to cause enough of a stir, but they finally noticed when I killed those three. That was when Lorna MacGregor finally tried to broker a pact with me.” Eddie fell to her knees and covered her face. She felt like she could vomit up her cursed heart. She heard Regan hiss from across the way but she would not look at him.

“Please, stop….” She pleaded but Naoise would have no mercy. His intent was clear, he would show her what she had truly yoked herself to. It was this blood that now swam in her veins.

“The wise woman didn’t have enough magic of her own to create the seal I demanded. I told her I would only stop killing if she could promise my waters would never be threatened ever again. It was then she returned to our homeland and found a way into Faerie. This was where she met the sidhe who gave her the spell for the seal, and raped her in return.” Eddie at last looked up to see Regan’s look of rage, far hotter than the flames behind him. She still could not rise however.

“She placed the seal, and even with her people protected she still desired revenge. One day while walking between the worlds she met a sorceress who taught her a curse.”

“Don’t you _dare_ tell her about that!” Regan screamed but Naoise ignored him as he finished.

“She invited the sidhe to lay with her again, and he, thinking she was in love with him, consented. She transformed him into a black snake, and having given half her life for the strength to do so, fell dead about fifteen years later.” Eddie half rose at Regan’s lunge but he was stopped suddenly. Rhona had appeared out of nowhere and was firmly holding her master’s wrist. Beneath the selkie’s arm was the damp and shivering poodle. Her gaze however was on Naoise and it was a look of death. Her large eyes were as wide as dark pools and reflected the flames near to her. Her gaze was a hell-scape. Her breath was calm, her open mouth was to accentuate her own fangs, long and gleaming. It was the only emotion Eddie had ever seen the woman express; hatred. Unadulterated and pure hatred.

Regan gasped and dropped his head. In the time it took for Eddie to fully stand he had pushed away Rhona. He gave Eddie a look of pure emotion, unmasked by any deceit. It was as much hatred as was in the selkie’s expression.

_You can kill him. Do it._

The weight of the dagger was a throbbing sore on her leg. She had tied it to her thigh that morning, already anticipating something like this! She stepped back and clenched her fists. Naoise would not even look at her, the coward!

 _If you won’t even do that!_ She turned away. She clenched her chest in pain, true pain. It was as if her heart was being scooped out of her very rib cage! She gasped, wondering if she was not having a true heart attack! She staggered, no, this was a panic attack. She had not had one in months, but she was breaking.

She began to walk, shuddering in pain, struggling to breathe, but still finding her way across the open field. Guided by nothing more than an ardent desire to escape she came eventually to rest on the bank once again. She sank her hands into the mud and ignored the chill of the dampness soaking her skirt. She concentrated on slowing her breathing, forcing it to become rhythmic breaths instead of futile gasping. It focused her attention away from her consuming anxiety.

She reached into her pocket and found the small pill box she always carried with her. She popped a Xanax in her mouth and choked as she swallowed it dry. As she calmed Yusuf called her name.

“I’m here,” she said when she could. She pushed herself into a kneeling position, her dress was now ruined. The jinn took form before her, his blazing eyes were the only lights to see by.

“Are you all right?” he asked gently. Eddie glanced back but Naoise was lost to her in the darkness.

“No, I am not.” Hot tears welled in her eyes. As she closed them the tears cascaded down her cheeks. “I wish I had gone with Sarah to party with Stan and Esther! I wish I had never met that fucking kelpie! I wish I hadn’t-!”

She almost wished she had not leapt into the lake in the first place. If she hadn’t however Matthew would have been as dead as Lorna’s little brother, and Lorna herself. Eddie wiped her nose, and perhaps that chance to save her brother would keep her from coming to the same horrid fate as Lorna MacGregor had.

And nothing, nothing, would ever make her regret saving Matthew.

“…I agreed to marry him Yusuf, in exchange for Matthew being able to marry Kelly. And because he still wears the bridle—he’ll kill me if I try to back out! We made a blood-pact of some sort!” she miserably confessed to him. She could see his eyebrows knit. Her fists curled in the mud. “I agreed to marry that murderer! He would be father of my children! Someone who has _killed_ children-!”

Yusuf made a soothing noise and gently put his hands on Eddie’s shoulders. “You’re just going to get upset again. Didn’t I tell you to reach out for me if you needed kindness? You must stay strong for what’s ahead.”

She gave a gasping breath. She raised her hand. Yusuf took it and pulled her to him in a warm embrace. Eddie swallowed in mollification.

“Yusuf….why are you so nice to me? Is it just because of your need to do good deeds?” she asked softly and hopefully.

“Good deeds mean nothing if they are insincere,” was his reply. “And you are my friend, is that not enough?”

Eddie could have wept again. Her tears would mean nothing however without action. She leaned out of Yusuf’s soothing hold.

“Hey, you know Rhona, right? That selkie Regan keeps around?” Eddie asked. Yusuf nodded. “She has that ring Regan stole from me. Naoise said he can’t get it, but I think I know how to trade for it. Can you find out where her pelt is? I wouldn’t ask you to get it, just let me know where it is. After that, I’ll handle it on my own.”

“You have no guarantee she will give you the ring when she has it,” Yusuf warned.

“It doesn’t matter if she does,” Eddie narrowed her eyes. “Let someone be free of all of this.”

Yusuf blinked, and then smiled. “Then, it would be a worthy deed.”

“Thank you.” Eddie sighed. Though how could Rhona possibly refuse the pelt? She was fae and may indeed try to take both, but Eddie would forgive her for it. After all humans had abused her, and for a long time.

And at that pained idea Eddie’s thoughts turned on Naoise.

“At some point…I guess I’m going to have to confront that bastard,” she sighed. Yusuf said nothing. “So, let me be alone with my thoughts for a bit, please.”

“Of course,” Yusuf demurred. He stood up. He had one last thing to say before he disappeared again. “Take care of yourself, though, Eddie.”

Before she could ask what the ‘though’ truly meant, he was gone. Eddie looked at her hands clotted with mud and for a second recalled her hallucination of blood. For a second reality was overlaid by guilt and shame, and what dripped back down onto the bank was not earth but the cursed blood in her veins. She closed her hands around nothing.

If only she could crush in her hand what he had given her.

 

 

When he looked up, she was gone. A vacant space trembled in Regan’s furious wake. It was the selkie however he refused to look at. Regan made a move to approach him again but he paused as MacGregor and the jinn appeared. The fire-spirit left the crowd to probably follow after Eddie. He left MacGregor to try to make peace.

“Now, now, Regan, he just told Eddie the truth,” the man began to try to soothe. He had apparently at least heard the last part of Naoise’s tale. Regan’s scream was what had probably alerted the jinn. With MacGregor distracting Regan Rhona set the familiar down. The dog shook its coat and paced around her ankles. Naoise snarled at it. If it made any move to follow after the girl he would kill it, and it knew it. Rhona finally met his gaze and gave him an unimpressed look. His posturing had never frightened her, even before she had become as enslaved as he.

“Don’t you think she deserved to know?” he asked congenially. Regan sneered at him.

“It was not his story to _tell_!” he huffed. MacGregor sighed and turned to Naoise.

“Lad, _why_ did you tell Eddie that story?”

“Because she wished to hear it,” he explained. Regan glowered at him.

“She already knew about Regan’s mother, I think,” Naoise nodded at this.

“From Dougal I think,” he agreed. “He can never keep his damned mouth shut.”

“And do you think he was too fair to you when he told it?” MacGregor gently pressed and Naoise felt surprise unfurl over him. Rhona took in his expression with a sharp look.

“He has made a blood-pact with her,” Rhona revealed. Naoise shook off his revere to scowl at her. “I could smell his blood on her, and hers on him!”

“And that was not for _you_ to tell!” he growled. Rhona snarled back at him.

“Are you feeling pangs of conscious now you stupid waterhorse?!” she snapped. “What did you offer her? What did you exchange I wonder? I hope you really _are_ in love with her and regret for every second for the rest of eternity whatever disaster you will surely lead her into by your own arrogance and folly!”

“ _Enough_!” Naoise bellowed and MacGregor physically pushed him away from the selkie. The familiar stood on his back legs and furiously barked at the kelpie. Naoise allowed himself to be turned around. Even as enraged as he was he knew better than to challenge another fae to a duel before an entire host of humans. And Eddie, Eddie…he could not put her in such danger.

He shook off MacGregor and walked a few more steps into the darkness. He seethed but slowly regained control over his temper.

“What have you done?” MacGregor groaned. Naoise slowly unclenched his fists.

“She will marry me, when her brother marries Regan’s sister.” He said softly. “And when she is my wife I will take her far away from all of this.”

MacGregor was silent for a few moments before he asked, “And what if she decides she doesn’t want to go with you?”

“I will kill her,” for he could never let her be free while he was still enslaved. MacGregor took a step back as this settled on him.

“I am going to tell Regan about this,” MacGregor said quietly, perhaps realizing he had such courage within him.

“Would you be my enemy?” Naoise turned on him.

“It’s not about that Naoise and you know it,” MacGregor frowned. “You would have never told me this if it was so. You’re hoping that there is some way you can maintain your role as guardian without killing Eddie, and if there is not, and you find yourself in the position where you must kill her…you want someone to save her.”

Naoise could only concede this was the truth. The slump of his shoulders was enough to confirm it to MacGregor. He gave a small smile and gave the ultimate truth of the situation. “We have to be who we are.”

“Aye.” It was all he could say.

“Then I guess all we can do is trust in Eddie.” The man sighed and patted Naoise’s arm. He left the kelpie.

Naoise removed his glamour and became as invisible to human sight. Mortal eyes could no more see him than the graceful forms of the asparas. They had been stirred from their perches in the mountains at the commotion down below and had come to mock him. The eyes of the nymphs were as keen as night as in the day at the chance to laugh at folly.

_Yes the lord of Lake Santos is bridled_

_The lord kelpie is cuckolded_

_His appetite stifled_

_A human wench has him buckled._

They would be carrying that ditty across this land and the worlds beyond on gossamer notes of song. The jeering troupe was not dismissed even as he snapped his jaws. The avalanche of third wheels merrily followed him into the night.

 _“I am still allowed to eat any of you.”_ He warned in the language only spirits knew as he sailed across the fields. His threat was met with a cavalcade of laughter. The grotesque forms of gnomes writhed within the tall grasses in their mirth. They had been drawn up from their subterranean homes at the shrieks of the asparas overhead.

_No bride, no bride, no bride_

_She will never ride_

_Him even with a golden bridle!_

The refrain chased him to the creek. Even the trample a slow gnome did not stop the boisterous accompaniment. They left their fellow to gasp horribly in a pool of his own blood, still trying to chant the refrain despite his agony. It was the sort of perfidy that touched both human and spirit, that irrepressible urge to achieve an aim no matter what cost. When he cast his glamour back on upon seeing his mistress sitting by the creek with her head hung low, his hand that had been the crushing hoof was still blood stained.

"Naoise?" she asked softly as he paused by the edge of the creek to dip his hand in. "You scared me."

He didn't answer, he instead let the blood wash off his hand.

"I could hear you coming across the field, even when I couldn't see you," she explained. He looked up at her. "Not in general, is what I mean."

Babbling. She seemed to do that when she was upset and sometimes just in general. It was not as irritating as it usually was. He stepped towards her wondering if she could see as well as he could under the light of the half-lit moon.

"Are you all right?" he finally asked. She stiffened at the question.

“No, I’m better than I was but…” she swallowed. “Naoise, nothing is okay about this situation.”

He sat down next to her. He looked down at his folded hands.

“I wish often we had never met,” he confessed softly. He heard her give a small gasp of surprise. He had no choice but to finish such a thought, even though his neck prickled as the feeling of vulnerability washing over him. “But…sometimes, I am very happy we did. Our lives could have gone on as they had been, and we probably both would have been happy without ever knowing one another, but…I wonder if we could not be happier than we would have been, in knowing one another.”

A difficult goal, a perhaps impossible one, but one he wanted to strive for.

"Why did you tell that story?" She asked quietly.

"So you would know the truth," He answered just as quietly.

"But even after all that, you would have still killed Matthew! Why?” she cried.

“There was no way for me to know he had people who loved him, who would do this much for him,” Naoise told her. “I have killed people no one ever cared for, people that others prayed for their death, and I have killed ones people mourned for years afterwards. I knew your brother from no other human, I only knew him as someone who threatened me and my waters.”

Eddie looked away. “Are we really nothing more than expendable to you? Not worth anything unless we force you to care?”

“Do you care for the moth that will live only a few days? Your existences are very brief to me, and for the most part are none of my concern. I exist for only one purpose and if I don’t do as I was made to, I will no longer be what I am.”

Eddie looked back at him, struck by something. “Dougal told me once some of you kind don’t even have names, they are just called after their function. ‘Kelpie’, ‘waterhorse’, it just means a guardian water spirit doesn’t it? And that’s all you are.”

“That’s all I am,” Naoise confirmed.

“Oh, I could cry for you Naoise! How awful that you can only be one thing!” Eddie gasped. Naoise furrowed his brow at her grief.

“But, Eddie, it’s the same for you. You are human, and if you stopped being human you would stop being you,” he reminded her. Eddie blinked and sat back as she contemplated his words. True understanding however at last came over her. She laughed and sank into the embrace of the damp earth.

“Yeah, I guess that’s right. If I became a fae or whatever, I wouldn’t be Eddie Moreno anymore,” she mused. She looked up at him. “But…have you ever wished to be anything else?”

“No,” he looked down towards the creek. “I have only ever been myself and I don’t regret what I am. I regret decisions I have made at times however. Even Dougal could not promise his beloved he would never kill humans again. For he knew if he did such a thing he could no longer protect his waters, for we must always allow the possibility we will do what we must.”

He looked up at the boundless sky, “I can never allow myself to promise or do anything that will prevent me from being what I am, but, like you, I have nothing that can assure me I am making a right choice. I only knew Matthew was breaking my seal. I am not thankful for what’s happened to me, but, it is likely far better than what may have happened if I hadn’t been stopped.”

He exhaled, “but I have made one oath that will always bind me. If any child may offend me, I will wait until he is a man before I take him. That is her legacy.”

Eddie was silent for a long moment. He didn’t look down to see her expression. He was a creature of immortality with no care for time. He could wait until the stars died to hear her speak again.

“I guess the thing about regret is, it only happens after the fact,” Eddie mused at last. “You don’t know if you’re going to regret something until after you’ve done it.”

“Aye,” Naoise rubbed the back of his neck as he recalled Rhona’s waning. Naoise closed his eyes and kept the truth from Eddie. _I don’t want to regret having fallen in love with you._

“Hey Naoise…” Eddie pushed herself up onto her elbows. He leaned down to meet her gaze. She hesitated and the words died before they could be born. She turned away. "Never mind."

So they remained in silence. Naoise gently took his hand in hers and she allowed it to remain in his cold grasp. They watched the eternal dance of the stars across the sky, together and in understanding.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dance at the end of the fair. Eddie tries to bribe Rhona for the ring. Naoise creates a sprinkler malfunction. Sarah and Gwen share a clandestine dance. Dougal meets the boy with the blood of a dragon in his veins. And Regan learns how to destroy the world. The calm before the storm.

Kelly was of course only delighted when Eddie asked her to walk with her around the fair.

She had escaped from Regan’s house around seven that morning. Her stepmother had insisted the family spend a dinner at home together, as they had done when her husband had still been living. Even though Katharine’s charity event had run until eight o’clock and she didn’t arrive back in Orangeblossom until nine. Of course the evening had run even later between wine drinking and Rhona being asked to give a private concert with her harp. She alone had been standing in the kitchen when Kelly had quietly gone down stairs in the morning. She had laid a finger over her lips for the other woman to keep the escape a secret and Rhona had just smiled indulgently at her.

She had a distinct impression she had not been allowed to return home because Katharine had not wanted her to spend the evening with Matthew. She didn’t like the idea the grudge against the Morenos was more than just Eddie’s indiscretion but after Katharine’s drunken comment about a wedding catered by a taco truck, Kelly knew better. It was Regan alone who had urged her to disregard their stepmother’s comments after the woman had gone to bed.

“You’re a grown woman Kel, don’t listen to her. You go and marry whoever you want.” And at first Kelly had felt bolstered by the encouragement until Regan had followed up with mentioning he had invited an old boyfriend of hers to the dance.

“Oh, tell me you didn’t,” Kelly had sighed as she had rubbed her forehead.

“Jai Darzi.” Regan informed her grandly.

“Jai Darzi?” Kelly repeated with a frown. Then the memory hit her, her high school boyfriend, very handsome and gregarious, but too irresponsible to take seriously. “Oh, I…had not thought of him in _years_.”

She frowned, she almost felt like she had completely forgotten about him until this very moment! How strange!

“Yes well, like you he’s done with school. He’s actually become a partner in his father’s accounting firm. For the last few months he’s actually been working for me of all things. Small world, right?” Regan beamed. Kelly was too flustered to fully form the thought of why he had not told her sooner. The disconcerting feeling remained however that something was wrong in this situation.

“Yeah…” she sighed.

“Anyway, he’s dying to get back in touch with you.”  
“Regan.” Kelly closed her eyes in frustration. “I am going to be there with Matthew.”

“And does that mean you’re not allowed to speak to old friends?” Regan leaned forward to pour her another glass of wine. He sat back on the couch they were both sprawled out on. “C’mon Kel, he didn’t strike me as the jealous type.”

“He’s not,” Kelly sighed. She ran her fingers down the fine silver chain to the bauble that always hung around her neck. Regan had given it to her when their mother had died and it was a comfort object. She fondled it absent mindedly, soothed by its curves and edges running beneath her fingertips.

“I just don’t want to complicate things…”

“Heh well, perhaps you would rest easier, knowing he has some interest in Eddie Moreno?” Regan prompted over his wine glass.

“What?” That fact startled Kelly.

“Oh, yes, for a week or two now,” Regan grinned. “Ha, ha, does _that_ make _you_ jealous?”

“Of course not!” Kelly snapped. She had not even thought of Jai in years! What surprised her was that Eddie would even know him. Had Regan introduced them at some point? She couldn’t conceive they would have met on their own. Eddie had no ties to Los Angeles as far as Kelly knew and Regan was Jai’s only tie to this area. She decided to ask no more questions about it however or she would give Regan more to tease her with.

“Doesn’t Eddie have a boyfriend?” Kelly wondered. Though he seemed to be a new addition as Matthew had mentioned meeting him only a day before.

“Seems to be that way, but you know, I doubt it’s anything _serious_ ,” Regan mused.

“She’s too young anyway, for anything serious,” Kelly frowned. When she was more sober she should probably question why someone the same age as she would be chasing after an unestablished twenty year old. At that moment she had been content to let her anxiety slide away on the taste of merlot and Regan’s laughter.

Kelly put a hand to her forehead as she recalled the conversation while at Eddie’s side. The girl seemed to be in full spirits at least even if she had apparently fought with her boyfriend the night before. She recalled Regan saying he was a “bad sort” and apparently knew him. Kelly had never seen him. She glanced at the young woman beside her. She would call Eddie pretty certainly with her dark hair, hazel eyes, and a cute little muffin top above her jeans. Nevertheless she knew the girl was shy by nature and she would not have ever imagined her circumspect personality taking on two men at once.

Kelly held her tongue. She was not looking for gossip. Though she was bemused about what exactly was going on in the girl’s personal life, it was not her business to know. She wanted to cultivate a friendship with her future sister-in-law, especially as she was so dear to Matthew. If Eddie wanted to open up to her as a confidante, she could chose to do so, Kelly would not urge her to do it. Right now she wanted nothing more than to make a good impression on the younger woman.

So instead she made small talk about the various exhibits. Kelly knew little about farming and Eddie knew a great deal. Eddie was happy to explain much about horticulture. She was most proud to show off her heifer. She had spent the early morning bathing her to prepare her for the show. She cooed over the calf like she was a pet and Kelly smiled at the tenderness she saw there.

“If she wins first or second she’ll go to a breeder for sure at the auction. Mindy’s bull won first place in his class yesterday and they share the same mother so I’m hoping…” Eddie crossed her fingers.

Kelly nodded, “I noticed though you haven’t entered any of the horse riding events. That’s too bad, they’re usually very fun.”

“Oh, do you ride?” Eddie asked.

“When I was younger, I’m afraid I don’t have the time for it anymore,” Kelly sighed.

“We could go sometime, we have three horses and Tom’s gelding besides,” Eddie mused as she began to lead Kelly out of the barn.

“But you won’t show?” Kelly asked.

“Mm, I guess the thing is, I don’t like performing in front of people. Raising stock is fine because while everyone can see the result of your hard work, you don’t have to show ‘em you doing it. I rather go for a trail ride with a friend than compete in a barrel race for a $100.” She shrugged. Kelly was again struck by Eddie’s discretion and wondered if she really did have as much excitement in her life as Regan had implied.

Perhaps Regan had been pulling her leg after all.

They sat down side by side on the fountain that marked the entrance to the old farmhouse. The roses were in full bloom and a canvas of white and red shielded them from all other eyes. Eddie reached into her jacket pocket and retrieved a bracelet. It was very pretty, Kelly thought, constructed of swirling bands and glass beads. It was costume jewelry surely though Eddie was holding it like it may shatter in her very hand.

“I want to give this to you,” Eddie told her, her eyes looking down with a blush on her cheeks. “The thing about it is, it’s supposed to flash purple when you see your true love. I thought maybe it be a little fun for you and Matt. And he can’t wear it, he get it all full of grease.”

Kelly was touched by the gesture and opened her hand to receive it. It was cool to the touch and gracefully slid around her wrist. “Where did you get such a thing?”

“Old magic shop,” Eddie shrugged. “Like a mood ring I suppose.”

“It’s lovely, I’ll always wear it,” Kelly promised. She had been worried Eddie may be jealous or resentful of her as she had been Matthew’s precious little sister all her life but she was as kind and unselfish as he was. How wonderful if they really could be friends.

For Kelly had to admit, she didn’t have any real friends right now.

They were interrupted by a staggering figure approaching them. It was a young woman with mussed red hair and a partially unbuttoned top with a smear of pink lipstick running from lip to cheek. She beamed through the wild tangle of her hair at Eddie.

“Yo, Eddie.”

“Sarah!” Eddie stood up and went to the other girl. “What happened?”

“A kegger.” She rubbed one eye and noticed Kelly sitting back in shock.

“Morning. You’re Matt’s girl aren’t you?” she asked and Kelly nodded. “I’m Sarah McAllister, party whore extraordinaire.”

“ _Sarah_!” Eddie chided. She explained to Kelly, “This is my best friend.”

“…Who probably slept outside last night,” Eddie murmured the afterthought as she looked the bedraggled outfit up and down.

“I did,” the other confirmed grandly.  
“What did you do last night?”

“Stan.” She grunted and Eddie frowned.  
“Better keep that from Ms. Takahashi, she won’t like it.”

Sarah waved her hand, “just keep this from my Mom all right? Say I was with you last night, oh pretty please?”

Eddie stepped back at the hands folded in a pleading gesture. She glanced at Kelly who was trying to be polite and only smiled nicely at this conversation that confused her greatly. Eddie turned to face her.

“I’m sorry Kelly. I’m going to take Sarah to have _several_ glasses of water. I’ll see you later.”

“Oh, certainly.” Kelly smiled. She remained sitting on the fountain and didn’t stop smiling until Eddie had pushed her friend out of sight. She allowed her face to relax when she was alone and looked down at the bracelet. She had a feeling Eddie had been a little embarrassed to have her hung-over friend suddenly come staggering up after sleeping outside all night, but only a little. Eddie had been far more concerned about the other girl’s wellbeing. Kelly felt a twinge that maybe someone would care for her so.

But, as she always did when she had these sort of thoughts, she felt ungrateful and needy. Hadn’t Regan taken care of her all her life? Wouldn’t he do for her what Eddie was doing for Sarah? There was the idea she would be made to feel guilty if she had ever been so licentious with him, but that too was pushed away in horror. Matthew after all loved her too and as unconditionally as Eddie obviously loved her friend.

Yet she was tormented by the idea if he knew she had these feelings he would stop loving her. It was a deep and searing fear. And that she could not dismiss this feeling scared her even more deeply.

She wondered if the bracelet would actually do as Eddie had promised. It was a novelty, and everyone knew those mood rings were based on body heat instead of emotion. Yet the beads on her wrist remained colorless. Kelly stood and put the hand with the bracelet into her pocket.

She didn’t think about what she may have to confront if the beads remained lifeless even when looking upon her beloved.

 

 

For the dance Sarah had chosen to present herself with bright red lips and a handkerchief dress printed with cherries. It made her look even more fierce than usual and with her black stiletto heels she became a monolith of self-assured power. She had pulled up her curls into a mighty pompadour. She looked much brighter after sleeping off her hang-over.

Eddie was always far more subtle about such things. She choose a light gray, cotton dress that hung against her curves and swirled against her thighs with the help of a light petticoat. The belt accentuated her firm waist, making her shoulders and hips, the loci of her physical strength, seem larger. Her short looked longer with heels. Her lips and eyes were made brighter by soft strokes of fierce color. After all she must wear war paint upon a battlefield.

Naoise was waiting outside the barn before the dance as promised. Sarah raised her eyebrows that he was apparently not dressed, without shoes even, and had somehow managed to walk about a mile in a rainstorm given how soaked his hair, top and pants were. Eddie quickly corrected him by giving him a simple dress shirt, jeans, and boots with instructions to change in the bathroom. To distract her friend from this oddity Eddie went to find Jai Darzi. She knew he must be at his master’s beck and call.

She found him standing magnificently by the dessert table, chatting amiably to a man Eddie at first thought was Stan’s father. She realized however there were some differences in the stranger’s facial features from Mr. Ngo. Jai beamed at her when she walked up with Sarah in tow. Jai introduced the man as An Ngo.

“Good evening ladies,” the man nodded at them. Jai introduced Eddie to Mr. Ngo and Eddie introduced Sarah to them both as her best friend and coworker at Takahashi’s café.

“Oh, you work with my nephew then.” Mr. Ngo nodded. “Stan.”

“Oh, really?” Sarah was superb at conveying a lack of concern.

“Do you also work for Mr. Seele?” Eddie asked carefully.

“In that I am a partner at the same firm as Mr. Darzi.” Mr. Ngo smiled. “I have come to spend some time with my brother’s family. And if you would excuse me for the moment…”

He raised a hand in apparent greeting to his nephew, who was flanked by his two younger sisters across the room. Stan had cleaned himself up as well as Sarah had, no trace of field or dirt remained on his body. Unlike her however he blushed when their eyes met. He looked away when Sarah smirked.

Naoise reappeared and stood a few feet back from the group. Jai didn’t even try to meet his gaze, he only continued to sip from his cup, out-right ignoring his arch-nemesis. It was the first time they had seen one another since Naoise had tried to kill him. Eddie excused herself to speak to him.

“Hey, I’m sorry, can I ask you to excuse me for a few minutes?” Naoise glanced at her in confusion. She sighed, “So I can talk to Jai in private?”

The reaction was immediate as Naoise’s brow furrowed and he raised his upper lip.

“He’s one of Regan’s _henchmen_ ,” Naoise hissed. “He’s nothing but a frog!”

Jai gasped and reeled back at the insult, well within hearing range as Naoise had raised his voice above Eddie’s whisper. Sarah also looked at the couple. Eddie stepped forward with a glower.

“Yes, I know, but he’s also my _friend_.” She hissed back. Naoise looked very surprised. It was infinitely satisfying to see his eyes widen and look in confusion at Jai. “And didn’t you tell me you could always find me? If I need help I’ll let you know.”

Naoise scowled and turned around sharply. He didn’t leave however, even when Eddie moved to take Jai’s arm. Sarah loudly excused herself to get some punch. Eddie felt her temper smolder at the kelpie but she pushed the prince away without another word to him.

“Hey are you all right? Did he scare you that much? He can’t hurt you, you know, so long as he’s wearing that bridle,” she patted Jai’s shoulder to reassure him as they began a circuit around the hall. Jai closed his eyes and swallowed.

“Eddie, what did you think he meant when he said ‘frog’?” She blinked at his strange question.

“Oh, I thought he was being a dick, because you know, that story of the frog prince? I thought he was insulting you a little.” She shrugged. Jai exhaled and seemed to compose himself at the answer. Eddie drew her hand away. “ _Is_ something wrong?”

“Oh no, not now. Now I feel much better.” Jai sighed. He offered his arm to her and she took it. She let him lead her out into the fields.

“How have you been?” Eddie asked him.

“Worried about you. Regan keeps me updated of course but….” He shrugged. Eddie wasn’t certain if he was implying this was not enough to soothe his anxiety, or Regan was not trustworthy. It was likely a mixture of both. “I had to participate in a large project for my father’s firm and couldn’t get away sooner.”

“Heh, just to go to a dance in some Podunk town?” Eddie grinned. It faded away as he gently touched her chin.

“To see _you_.” He corrected with his own grin. Eddie felt her cheeks warm and was thankful when he moved his fingers away. “I’m glad to see you boss that kelpie around. Not afraid are you?”

“Ha,” Eddie gave a throaty exhale that was somewhere between a derisive laugh and snort. “He’s playing nice now, because I will give him what he wants.”

Jai frowned at the reminder. “So you really did it.”

Eddie smiled, “are you disgusted with me?”

“No. You did what you thought was best. You can stand-up to him without fear.” Jai returned her smile. “You did what I asked.”

Eddie gave a grateful sigh, a release of fear upon breath. She sat down on a boulder and invited Jai to do the same. Before them was the rolling green of the surrounding field and the only sound the babble of the creek. For a second they were the only two creatures alive.

“But…does that mean, you have a date for tonight?” It was in a teasing tone but Eddie had a feeling the prince was being earnest. She hesitated before she answered.

“Yes,” it was the final truth.

“Hm, is he the jealous type?” Teasing again but with that same pitched undertone.

“I have no idea,” Eddie confessed. Naoise had never commented on her relationship with the prince. He hadn’t seemed to dislike him as a rival but on some instinctual level. It was another example of his esoteric thinking; people were their roles and roles were people. Jai had never seemed to be more than an enemy to Naoise because he could be nothing else.

“But that doesn’t matter,” Eddie sighed. “You know I made that pact with him. We’re ‘engaged’ now I suppose and I must go through with my promise.”

She grimaced, “If I don’t…he won’t trust me anymore. And this pact has been working far better than anything else has.”

“And you can’t just leave him at home, can you?” Jai asked softly.

“No,” There was the unspoken idea Jai could be the ally instead, but Eddie would not ask him to do something that endangered him. She, in short, needed Naoise and needed him to be on her side.

“Well may I have a dance then?” Jai reached for her hand and she gave it. He kissed it softly.

“Sure,” she smiled. As he let go however she gave a small frown. “Kelly will be here with Matthew you know.”

“I know, but you can also know I have no orders to interfere with them.” Jai reassured her. Eddie smiled, but knew probably the rest of Regan’s ‘henchmen’ had no such orders. The idea brought Rhona to mind. She had a feeling however the one to ask about the selkie was Naoise.

“Jai, you don’t have a date tonight, right?” Eddie asked as they walked back inside. He tensed at the question but smiled easily.

“I suppose I forgot to get one!” He laughed. He nonchalantly poured himself a glass of punch. Sarah blinked at them both as she remained in her fortress of solitude that was far away from the sulking faerie. Eddie eagerly reinstated her friend into the conversation by taking her arm and leading her towards the prince as he continued to speak. “After all I had hoped you would be free…”

Eddie didn’t let him complete his line of thought. She pushed Sarah forward. “Sarah is also single, and I think you’ll have a great time together.”

Sarah tensed in surprise, but as he looked the prince up and down in his clean cut suit and into his handsome face, she apparently had no objections. Jai looked chagrined at the prospect, but as Eddie had thought, he was going to avoid offending her. He offered his hand to Sarah who readily took it.

“It would be my pleasure to escort you this evening.” He told Sarah and kissed her hand. She only smiled slyly, Eddie knew that while Sarah appreciated Jai’s beauty, she was far too experienced to be wooed by his charm alone. But after all, what woman would not enjoy a night with a true prince?

“But, Eddie that dance?” Jai asked as she started to move away.

Eddie beamed at Jai to reassure him she had not forgotten his request. Though hopefully Sarah would keep him distracted. Having the prince preoccupied would hopefully help achieve her aim of the night; inviting the Regan’s selkie into sabotage.

Naoise found her after she had slipped back into the crowd and had made her way to the opposite end of the hall. The stalls had been removed long ago to make for a wide and long hall, though hay bales were the offered seating. At the far end a stage had been raised below the still remaining hay loft. The music was provided by a DJ perched on the stage.

There was a tense moment between them. Eddie met Naoise’s gaze with a frown that warned him to not reprise their earlier conversation. The kelpie softly snorted and apparently tried another tactic.

“You look….different.” Was Naoise’s candid observation. Eddie repressed a sigh. Upon seeing that he elaborated, “You are always beautiful to me but now…it’s different.”

She felt her cheeks warm, she had not been expecting him to say _that_. Though she had no idea what he meant by “beauty” as Naoise didn’t ever seem overly concerned with outward appearances. And his observation may not have been flattery at all.

“Well, we match.” She took his arm. “You look very different in a nice shirt.”

Somehow it made him even more graceful and sleek. Though she supposed as fae he likely could wear sackcloth and still look like a million dollars. With Naoise’s haunting charm she doubted anyone even notice the frayed sleeves. From across the room she could see Jai had ditched his jacket as he joined Sarah in the first line dance of the evening.

“Okay, reconnaissance.” Eddie mused as she pulled Naoise into a corner. Once there, safely tucked away behind a few hay bales, she asked, “Is Regan here?”

“Yes, but he is outside I believe,” Naoise answered.

“Is Rhona with him?” Eddie asked. Naoise closed his eyes and raised his head. Eddie realized he was smelling for something. At last he answered, “Aye.”

“Okay. What I need is at some point to talk to her.” Eddie slammed her fist upon her other open palm.

Naoise frowned, “why?”

“The way I got this figured, Regan expects us to use force. I mean you’re not subtle at all.” Eddie explained. Naoise pursed his lips but didn’t comment on the assessment of his abilities. “But what he wouldn’t expect us to do is to just ask for it.”

“You’re going to _ask_ her for the ring?” Naoise asked incredulously.

“Yeah! Regan never see it coming!” Eddie nodded. “But I’m also going to sweeten the deal, if she gives me the ring I’ll give her the pelt back.”

Naoise’s expression remained unimpressed.

“If she hasn’t found it on her own yet it is very well hidden,” he pointed out.

“Yeah but I asked Yusuf to find it and he’s a jinn. So he shouldn’t be so affected by fae magic, right?” Eddie countered. Naoise looked bemused at the prospect but before he could answer they were interrupted.

“Brother! And his future bride!” Dougal greeted them both. He put his arms around both of their shoulders and drew them to him in a gentle hug. Eddie shivered that his skin was as cold as the other kelpie’s, though the Via Verde ran a little warmer than Lake Santos. She looked down at his bare feet and sighed, he was dressed in his usual attire. Dougal didn’t even try to assume a human façade, he forever remained an ethereal visitor to humanity, and would never be more.

She cringed to hear herself addressed as “bride”. Dougal felt her tremble and smirked. He gently ducked her chin, a small gesture of comfort in that he felt confident in her.

“You came to the dance?” Eddie asked. She supposed she shouldn’t feel too surprised however, Dougal seemed to enjoy interacting with humans. He probably took her acquaintance as an invitation to socialize.

“Aye. By my river has walked every day, for some time now, a young man. I smell the blood of a dragon within him.” He grinned and he let them both go. Eddie frowned, she doubted that was his sole reason for coming here.

“Will Mr. MacGregor be here then?” She asked.

“Ulysses? Nay, I think he’s out for the evening so to speak. That fire spirit however,” he leaned down to peer into Eddie’s face and lowered his voice, “has another engagement, I believe.”

Eddie felt her mouth open, so he was keeping tabs on all this. She was uncertain of his motives. Was it because he saw it as protecting Naoise? Or was it just for fun? Dougal didn’t seem to be a particularly vindictive or spiteful creature. Even with an ambiguous goal, Eddie felt more inclined to trust him as he had always spoken the truth to her.

“Dougal,” Naoise prompted his attention. The other kelpie turned to him with a grin. Naoise narrowed his eyes. “That ring was by your magic. Does the selkie have it with her?”

For the first time Eddie realized this was why Naoise had said he could always find her. It was not because he had tasted her blood, but because she had tasted his, and the magic within it. His magic was the link between them. She shivered, but her troubled expression wasn’t seen by either of the fae.

“Och! Still after that are we?” He cried. Naoise gave Dougal an almost disgusted look Eddie couldn’t quite comprehend. Dougal however responded to it with a loud sigh.

“Hmmmm, well I can confirm it is outside, and the custodian is a fae of some sort,” Dougal mused as he brushed a few strands of damp hair out of his face. As he glanced back his eye caught something. “But excuse me.”

He stepped away to get two glasses of punch. Eddie exhaled, and extended her arms with the thought, _he literally swims in my blood_. Naoise at last noticed her perturbed look.

“Are you all right?” Eddie shook her head as Dougal approached Stan of all people.

“M’fine,” she sighed and waved it off. She glanced back at him however.

“Just now, were you angry at Dougal? About the ring?”

His mouth tensed in an uncomfortable look. He had apparently not expected her to notice.

“You should not think Dougal is so nice.” He sighed.

She blinked, “why?”

“Because he gave you that ring with ill intentions, however he may feel now.” Naoise furrowed his brow. Eddie stared at him for a few seconds, trying to fathom what he was telling her. She at last looked away and couldn’t stop the bitter expression that came over her face.

“Well, it’s the same for you, isn’t it?” she hated the truth sometimes. Naoise didn’t argue this with her. He knew it too. She briefly saw a conflicted expression on his face before he turned away. They stood in an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds, perhaps each re-assessing their desire to continue this alliance.

“Would you dance?” He offered his hand. At her confused look at the change of subject he added, “It would be a convenient way to look at everyone in the room. I suspect that familiar is wearing a human body.”

“Oh, yes.” Eddie gave her hand. The next dance was to be a square dance, and perhaps like her Naoise would be apt enough to simply follow the flow of the dance as one must with group dances. She stood across from him and wondered if, with her blood in his veins, he had gained some vulnerability. She curtseyed at the start of the dance and he followed the other men in bowing. As they turned around each other she looked across the room. Regan had appeared, tucked into a corner with Rhona at his side. The selkie watched the gale of activity around her with her usual detached expression, Regan talked to Stan’s uncle.

To her surprise she saw Stan across the way, hands linked with Dougal’s. The kelpie was grinning at him and Stan was only nodding at the words. Eddie sighed, well of all people Stan would not be the one to be snared by a faerie, she still remembered his mockery of the prince. A handsome devil was likely to have about the same amount of effect.

Sarah for her turn seemed to be enjoying her time with Jai, apparently loudly joking with him. She slapped his back when he missed a step as the dance lead from do-si-do to pairs again.

“The familiar is the stout blond man, dressed in uniform,” Naoise informed her. She followed his glance to the edge of the dance floor. It was strange, though she had never seen the police officer before, she had not thought to question his presence. Apparently the citizens he was speaking to were not questioning him either despite his badge clearly stating he was from the tri-city PD. She felt her ire rise, and how often had Regan used this little trick?

After the dance had ended Dougal walked up to them.

“Stan told me he was a friend of yours, you should have introduced us!” he teasingly scolded Eddie.

“Ah but if he knew that Naoise was your brother he may not have let you talk to him,” Eddie countered and Dougal stepped away with a whooping laugh. Eddie sighed at the puddles he left across the dance floor. That no one else had noticed or had slipped must be more enchantment.

Jai came up with Sarah in tow.

“May I have the next dance?” he asked.

“Ah, sure.” She could think of no reason to refuse even as she felt Naoise tense at her side. He wisely kept his mouth shut however.

“Ah, well, perhaps you could dance with Sarah,” Jai suggested with some amusement at Naoise’s flummoxed expression.

“Oh no”, Sarah said flat-out but didn’t complete her thought as Gwen Seele walked up in a pink chiffon dress that was far too couture for the gathering. So Katharine the Great had at last come.

“I’ll dance with you, Naoise.” Eddie glanced to find Regan in the crowd. He was still in the corner, now also speaking to Stan’s father. He made eye contact with her, smiled, and seemed to have no concern whatsoever his younger sister was inches near to a man-eater. Eddie remembered the knife, and how even now it was strapped to her thigh.

“Gwen, I…” Eddie struggle for an excuse to give that wouldn’t insult or upset the girl. Gwen tilted her head in challenge.

“Oh, let the bossy boobs have a turn on the floor.” Sarah pushed Gwen at Naoise and he passively took ahold of one of her arms.

“Hey!” Gwen snapped.

“Fantasy will be over, won’t it?” Sarah smirked at Naoise. She stepped away as Eddie stepped forward. Jai put a hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear.

“Regan is watching. If you can’t be trusted to control Naoise in public he’ll have more reason to take him from you.” Eddie glanced back at him and when she looked forward Gwen was already pulling Naoise onto the floor. He looked back at her and she frantically tried to give him a look that indicated his life would be in danger if he harmed the girl. And that most of all, she didn’t want that confrontation. He looked away from her anxiety and kept his back turned to her. Eddie inhaled as Jai took her hand. She had not only the bridle but the knife.

So why did she feel so helpless?

Jai gently nudged her into position for the couple’s dance, one hand on her waist, her one hand trembling on his shoulder, and their two hands folded tightly together by her grip. He smiled so kindly at her, it always broke her heart to see the bow of his lips.

“Between the two of us, he’ll always have an eye on him,” he reassured her. She nodded and bowed her head as she nearly wept in realization. The only reason they were together was because of Naoise and Regan, and their endless struggle. It was why he had asked her to dance, so Naoise would have to be left alone. It was so she could be tested once again. She faltered on a turn as she realized Regan needed her and Naoise apart because they were too strong together. As Jai’s hand touched her back she knew even though the prince genuinely cared about her, his and her desires were not the same.

They could never stand together. So long as things remained the way they were they could never be together. And that could not be changed, Eddie had already made her choice. A choice she could never renege.

Eddie smiled at him as he led her in the great circle around the floor. She wanted to smile as brightly at him as he always had her. It was the smile of hope. It was the smile of a person without fear. He absorbed that gentle light, not knowing that to be the person he had asked her to be, she must stand apart from him.

The dance ended and Eddie curtsied in the same gratitude present in her partner’s bow. She had not looked at the faerie once. She had placed all of her hopes and fears upon him, and that burden was meaningless if she must watch him bear it. Jai reached for her again.

“Care to dance again?” he asked. She stepped back and shook her head.

“No, I’m sorry.” She said softly. Jai’s eyebrows raised.

“Why not, if I may ask?”

She smiled sorrowfully. “Naoise is my fiancé, I can’t ignore him the whole night.”

Jai looked surprised and then troubled by the statement. “Is that really how you feel about it? That you have an _obligation_ to him?”

“Yes. I agreed to the engagement. It is the promise I made him.” She paused as Gwen Seele walked by in a fury. She glanced back and found Naoise standing docilely off to the side of the dance floor. He was patiently waiting for her. She turned her back on Jai to spare herself any look of disgust. She walked back to Naoise with her head held high. He was after all her choice.

“Do you want to dance again?” he asked. Eddie shook her head. She made her way towards the bales of hay and sat down.

“I want to rest.” She sighed. The weight of the dagger had suddenly become a terrible burden. Naoise sat beside her and for the first time gently rested his hand on her opposite shoulder. He did not draw her close or down, he simply held her up.

“Eddie are you…” she glanced at him and the words seemed to die on his tongue. He looked away. “Never mind.”

She sighed and took off her shoes. “These heels are killing me.”

“Ah. Leave them off. I can see no use for such things.” Naoise grunted and for the first time Eddie realized he was indeed not wearing any shoes. She laughed at the sight of his bare toes that were rapidly accumulating a puddle beneath them.

“What?” he frowned and she shook her head. What had become of the boots? The thread-worn socks she had bought him?

“I’m sorry.” She told him. He raised an eyebrow at her. “That I became so worried about leaving you alone with Gwen. But why was she angry at you? You didn’t insult her did you?”

“I didn’t enchant her.” He informed her. “I let her see how uninterested I was, and that I am not a skilled dancer.”

He shrugged, “apparently she was angry the fantasy ended.”

Eddie sighed and repressed the sudden urge to kiss his cheek or embrace him again in gratitude. With her loved ones she was naturally affectionate, but she wasn’t quite sure where this urge arose with Naoise. It was unbidden, and specious when they couldn’t trust each other. She did however let her cheek rest against his and let him hold her closer.

It was not a reward. It was a gesture of gratitude. She deluded herself into thinking it was nothing more.

Sarah put her tongue between her lips and blew against it as she watched the prince storm off the dance floor. Apparently he didn’t take rejection very well. He took no notice of her but she had intended to have some privacy by retreating to the small banquet room that had probably once been a birthing stall. She had stayed only to watch the dance end, and now she meant to mosey her way through the exit of the room to the outside for a little break.

She fumbled in her purse and sighed at the thought of Jai Darzi. Even princes were little boys apparently. She knew his boner had been for Eddie but he had been polite and gracious to Sarah and that was a rare enough quality that she liked him from the moment she met him. She would have helped him get with her best friend if she hadn’t seen his little snit. In that moment he hadn’t been much better than cantankerous Naoise.

Though Sarah couldn’t understand the attraction there either. Oh, there was the _sexual_ tension, she supposed Eddie and Naoise had yet to have a good angry fuck. Unlike most of these sorts of situations however the sexual act would not be the finale of the relationship. Sarah sensed something running far more deeply and it confused her. It was not love. Not on Eddie’s part anyway. She envisioned their relationship as Naoise struggling to peer over a very tall wall with Eddie on the other side with her back turned to him. What Sarah didn’t know however if the wall needed to be torn down or it was what was holding them together.

She twirled the cigarette between her fingers as her eyes fell on Stan in a corner with a man Sarah suspected must be Naoise’s brother. Except this man was loud, boisterous, and _fun_. He oozed charm from every pore and the boy was his chosen prey of the evening. She sighed, and why must the delightful men be gay? Or bi and smitten with a member of the same sex.

“Motherfuckin’ Stan,” she chortled as she placed the cigarette in her mouth. That boy sure got around. She was proud of him. She started to sashay towards the exit when someone suddenly bolted through the door. Sarah instinctively eased back into a dark corner.

She remained there when she realized it was Gwen Seele by her pink dress and the roses in her hair. The girl was not crying but she was standing in the dark with trembling shoulders. Sarah’s eyes traveled down and she saw Gwen’s fists were clenched. So Miss Teen Priss 2014 was trying to not have an emotional break-down in front of everyone.

No, Sarah realized as Gwen lifted her head. It was to avoid her mother and older brother, wasn’t it? The fuck did she care about the rest of them? Sarah smiled as their eyes met. Gwen sucked in air between her teeth in a suppressed snarl. Sarah’s grin grew wilder and Gwen bared her teeth.

“Are you laughing at me?” Gwen hissed.

“Well, yeah,” Sarah rocked back on her heels. “Because it’s like I said isn’t it? The fantasy is over.”

Gwen tensed at the observation. God had this girl never been wrong before? Sarah shook he head in a matronly manner. “That’s what you got to learn about people like that Naoise. They look all pretty but when you get close to ‘em they’re no more special than you or me.”

“I don’t need you to lecture me!” Gwen angrily snapped. She turned on her heel to storm back out but Sarah caught her wrist. “Let go!”

“You go back out there a mess and your mom is going to eat you alive I bet.” Gwen’s gasp was confirmation enough. Wasn’t it so sickening to look into the mirror sometimes? Sarah sighed as she towed the girl along and opened the exit door. The night air was breath taking.

“Because, mine do the same to me,” Sarah frowned as Gwen landed against a cottonwood tree, her satin heels clotted with dirt and her face streaked by tears. She looked grotesque in the moonlight, her mascara was running in thick streams, her mouth was an angry pink smudge, and her foundation had been hammered away by tears and snot. It was the most real expression Sarah had seen on the girl’s face, and she couldn’t help but to cup it in one hand.

“Dance with me.” Sarah told Gwen.

“What?” Gwen blinked with thick and clotted eyelashes.

“Get your mind off things,” Sarah put her hands on Gwen’s waist. The other girl hesitantly put her hand on Sarah’s shoulder and held up the other to be taken. Sarah snorted at her.

“No, we’re not doing shitty ballroom dancing! Just!” Sarah moved Gwen’s hands to rest on her shoulder. She lifted her away from the tree. “Dancing.”

They moved, in the dark and together. Gwen sniffed as she slowly traced Sarah’s steps with her own.

“This is not…to the beat of the music,” Gwen observed as she avoided Sarah’s eyes.

“I’m not listening to that,” Sarah lifted her head and ignored the furious reel leaking from the windows. She was listening instead to the wind rustling through the leaves, the sound of her heart and Gwen’s breathing. It was slow, deliberate, and engulfing.

“Just let me lead you,” Sarah asked and Gwen consented by following her steps wherever she moved. It was all peace and comfort until they were interrupted by the sound of laughter a few minutes later. Gwen dropped her hands too late. Her older sister saw her standing near to Sarah as she crested the small ridge before the barn. Kelly’s smile didn’t fade but her eyebrows raised in question. Sarah couldn’t help but to snort gently at the other woman’s mussed hair and wrinkled skirt, or how her boyfriend was quickly buttoning up his shirt. Matthew nodded at them both as he dropped an arm over Kelly’s shoulders.

“Oh, Gwen honey are you…?” Kelly frowned as she saw Gwen’s ruined make-up.

“I’m fine.” Gwen swallowed.

“I’m taking care of her.” Sarah reassured the fretting sibling. God, was Kelly really the only one that cared that much about the youngest Seele? Matthew leaned down and whispered something in Kelly’s ear that made her smile. Sarah chuckled, whatever it was it seemed to relieve Kelly of worry at the thought of the “party whore extraordinaire” taking care of her younger sister.

“All right.” Kelly patted Gwen’s shoulder. “But try to come in about midnight, okay? Matty and I have an announcement to make.”

“Okay! You and _Matty_ have fun then!” Sarah trilled to save Gwen further embarrassment. Matthew rolled his eyes at her but led Kelly forward in pleasure. When they had gone inside Sarah patted Gwen’s back.

“Did you see? Did you see? He proposed and she said yes!” she grinned.

“That’s not what she said,” Gwen frowned.

“What else do they have to say to the entire town? ‘We just had a good fuck by the river’?” Sarah snorted and Gwen gasped in disgust at her. Sarah raised an eyebrow at her. “Want to bet?”

“No.” Gwen raised her chin. “That seems rather uncouth to me.”

“You just know you’ll lose,” Sarah crowed. Gwen glared at her and Sarah tried to get into her good graces again. “Anyway this will surely make your mom forget all about you!”

Sarah bit her tongue at how her words sounded even without Gwen turning down the corners of her mouth. “I’m sorry, that’s not what I wanted to say—“

“It is, because it’s the truth,” Gwen sighed and put her hands on Sarah’s hips. “I’ll lead this time.”

Sarah sighed and let the girl lead her across the balmy and treacherous night. She would remember the feeling of those small hands on her hip bones for a very long time.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Gwen whispered after about an hour of silence. No, only an hour of music only they could hear.

“Because I’m human I suppose,” Sarah sighed. “And so are you.”

What else could she say to explain it? And Gwen was content with the answer and laid her head on Sarah’s shoulder as she forgot everything else. Who they were. Where they were. And what midnight would bring.

It was only as the dance began to ebb instead of flow that Eddie managed to spot an opportunity to speak to the selkie alone. It was growing close to midnight when Rhona took the stage with her harp.

The faux police officer was still making his rounds around the crowd even as it shrank in size. Parents took their children home and the elderly shuffled on their way. He smirked at Naoise every time he passed but he dared not make conversation with the woman at the kelpie’s side. To Eddie’s chagrin Jai had apparently left after the third dance, leaving the familiar to be Regan’s only set of eyes on the floor. The enchanter had appeared totally unaffected the entire evening, not even once looking his adversary in the face. Eddie knew this was not because she had proved her control over the monster at her side.

She had spent her evening in Naoise’s company. Matt was with Kelly and Eddie was not sure where Sarah had gone. She had disappeared when Gwen did. She sent her friend a text message but received no reply. She amused herself at some points with watching Dougal earnestly court Stan all evening. Stan bore his compliments and admiration graciously and listened to the faerie’s stories with polite skepticism. He wisely stayed with the crowd and didn’t let his suitor lead him astray. He lingered on however when his family went home, including his uncle.

Eddie and Naoise had behaved much like any couple, they danced when the music gave them the urge and spent time in-between in light conversation. They watched the familiar and Regan but neither one gave them much excitement. Rhona alone became the focus of Eddie’s attention. The selkie remained either totally unaware of her attention or ignored her outright. Though she passively smiled the entire evening there was never any warmth or invite in it.

Eddie was determined to approach her anyway. When she saw her chance she rose to her feet. Rhona was to play for the last dance of the evening; the only waltz. Her reel was timorous and mournful.

As Naoise took her into his arms Eddie wondered if the song that accompanied it was not of the fae woman’s own composition. It seemed to coax them both into the whirlpool of the dance with its pleading cry. Eddie wondered if her voice was so melodious due to her being fae. The raking of Rhona’s long and lovely fingers and her obscured face spoke far more than even her words had of her sorrow and rage. She stopped before her fingers opened in blood, letting the last note bleed out where she could not.

“Naoise! Distract Regan!” Eddie moved as Rhona stood to leave the stage, ignoring the applause of the crowd. The kelpie gave no confirmation save for a sudden hissing overhead. The fire sprinklers roared with life and doused the crowd with their furious gushing of water. People screamed and someone shouted for the main waterline to be found and shut off. In the drenched chaos Eddie leapt up onto the stage. She moved into Rhona’s path of retreat.

"Rhona, hhhiiiii," Eddie greeted with a large grin as she walked up to the fae. The selkie blinked her large eyes as water trickled down between them and ran down her wide lips. Eddie tried not to cringe at her own attempt at being gregarious. "I'm Edith Moreno, Matthew's sister, and, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Rhona side-eyed her but nodded. In the background people yelled for someone to find a wrench when the main spigot had been found. Eddie dared to not look for Regan, she could only trust Naoise had managed to get him involved with the struggle to shut off the sprinklers.

She hesitated on how to begin and looked at the woman before her who was not a woman at all. Rhona's profile, full and voluptuous, did suddenly recall a seal to Eddie; roly-poly and adorable. Yet Rhona's large dark eyes were not filled with mischievousness, but a sort of dull longing as she looked through her and to the world beyond. Not even being drenched in cold water seemed to rouse any true feeling in her.

"You're here about the ring." Rhona prompted when she perhaps became tired of Eddie staring at her. Eddie flinched in surprise.

"Ah, yes." She put her hands around her chest as the water from overhead gushed down to her bones. "Can I ask you to give it to me?"

Rhona looked at her in surprise. Eddie tried to rephrase the question. "Will you give it to me, _please_?"

"Why should I?" Rhona asked softly but with a certain harsh note that Eddie almost recoiled from.

"Well, ah…" Eddie hesitated. She realized she had not really thought this out at all.

"So you can usurp Regan's intentions?" Rhona asked and Eddie held up her hands only at this onslaught of truth. The selkie shook her head. "You do best to just hand that kelpie over to Regan."

"No! What? How can you possibly think that is better when—" Eddie stopped herself.

"Why would you interfere with an act of revenge? Naoise of Lake Santos' pride was the source of his mother's downfall.” Rhona narrowed her eyes.

"Because this isn't about Regan! If he wants to fuck about with Naoise he very well can after our agreement is over! I've told him as much!" Rhona stepped back at the force of Eddie's words. Eddie exhaled and tried to calm herself. "Please. That ring was a gift to me. It's not Regan's to have."

"You carry his blood in your veins, I can smell it." Rhona laid her hand over her bosom as Eddie felt her stomach churn. Did she have the scent of death upon her then? "I would not see another innocent woman destroyed by him."

"By my own choice!" Eddie snapped. Rhona’s lips turned sharply down.

"Would you have him kill me for this ring?"

"No! That ring…it's not worth bloodshed to me.” Eddie bowed her head. Rhona was silent for a long moment before she spoke again.

"I will say this to you Edith Moreno, give him to Regan, and free yourself of this burden. You may think you are acting in mercy but not only does Naoise of Lake Santos have no concept of it, you'll only cause more suffering if you don't."

"I'm not going to argue with you, my mind is made up." Eddie looked up and opened her hand. "Will you give me that ring?"

Rhona looked at her palm and turned away. The rain stopped. Eddie grasped her elbow in a desperate plea.

"Okay. You faeries like trades right? What if I get you your pelt back? You give me the ring then wouldn't you?"

Rhona gave her a flat and incredulous look.

"You would right?" Eddie asked again shrilly.

"No one can find it." Rhona jerked her elbow away and walked down into the flood. She waded towards her distant captor who was twirling the wrench around in his fingers, and giving Naoise an unamused look.

"I will! And we'll trade then!" Eddie insisted, certain that the selkie would be unable to resist her pelt when she had looked away with such a forlorn expression. She had looked towards the sea. It felt cruel to dangle such a prize before someone so hopeless, but at the thought of losing the ring forever her heart hardened. She wasn’t going to let Regan win!

Her eyes met Regan's as Naoise stepped back to allow Rhona to take the arm of the one who had hidden her freedom from her. Eddie wrapped her arms around herself locked eyes with her opponent. How did Rhona truly see this man? Would she betray Eddie to him, or only play her assigned part? Or could Regan see her deceit in her disgusted expression? Regan's eyebrows rose in amusement or questioning. Eddie looked away in loathing.

 _I feared becoming like Naoise, but is it you I resemble?_  
She covered her mouth until Naoise's bare feet came into view. She looked up at him, but before she could speak she felt another hand on her shoulder.

“Matt!” she gasped. Kelly stood behind him, looking radiant in a soaked dress. Her bracelet was warmly glowing lavender.

“Stay here just a second,” he asked. He fumbled with the microphone but found it apparently ruined by the rain or Naoise’s magic. He frowned and stepped up to the edge of the stage.

“Hey everyone? Could you stay just a bit longer?” He said as loudly as he could. The march outside paused and turned back towards him. Eddie at last found Sarah, curiously dry and near the also dry Gwen Seele. The younger girl’s mascara and lipstick were smeared. Eddie gave her friend a questioning glance but she only merrily shrugged. Regan drifted nearer to the stage and Dougal pulled Stan to stand up front. Matthew couldn’t contain his excitement, his grin and the tender way he held Kelly’s hand said more than even his words. The ring upon Kelly’s finger glowed red in the light of the lamps above.

“Kelly and I are engaged to be married!” The gasp from the far flung Katharine the Great and whatever Sarah said to Gwen was lost in the resounding cheers of the crowd. Matthew raised his hands to try to get some quiet for his next announcement.

“We invite you all to the engagement party.” Matthew added and at this Regan appeared on stage.

“Which I am happy to host at my own home.” He patted Matthew’s shoulder as the other man looked at him in surprise. Regan inclined his head as Kelly stepped up to him.

“Oh you don’t have to—“

“Nonsense. For you I would do anything.” Regan kissed her hand as he beamed at the crowd. “Let me be the first Seele to welcome the Morenos into our family.”

His eyes fell on the gushing Mindy and La-La. Tom was nodding in satisfaction. He ignored the glower of his stepmother and his younger sister’s crestfallen expression. Eddie would not meet his eyes when he looked back at her. He went on to announce the date as two weeks from the present. Released from her reverie Eddie walked down the stage with Naoise behind.

“Will it be a double ceremony?” Dougal greeted them first with Stan in tow. Matthew came down in time to hear it. When the kelpie saw his expression he laughed.

“Och don’t make such an angry face Big Brother! I am only teasing! I know you’d never allow it!” He laughed and Stan seemed to recoil in second hand embarrassment. Matthew shook his head and joined Kelly and Regan who were speaking to the very excited Mindy and La-La, the group bordered on one side by Katharine Seele.

“I think it’s time to go home. We’re all soaked,” Stan quietly pointed out. Gwen walked past to join her family and Sarah followed behind. Eddie wondered again if they were together but when they separated she saw no longing in her friend’s form.

“Shall I walk you home?” Dougal offered his arm. Stan hesitated and Sarah stepped up to assist him.

“Walk us both home. Both of my dates skipped out on me, let me end the evening with two handsome men on my arms,” Sarah sighed. Stan looked a little grateful and Dougal looked amused at both of his companions.

“Both?” Eddie asked softly. Sarah smirked and shook her head at her. Stan and Dougal did as asked and they walked out into the night, two of them leaving puddles in their wake.

Eddie and Naoise were left alone. Eddie looked back at him and shrugged. “I guess it’s time to be off.”

He nodded and Eddie excused herself to her family. Mindy and Katharine were already in a tense discussion about catering versus potluck. Matthew expressed a desire she wait for him to take her home before he and Kelly went on to Regan’s for an after-celebration. Eddie shook her head. She knew she needed to speak to Naoise alone.

They walked out into the night. When they had reached past all light from the barn, when only the light of the moon and stars gave any form to the landscape around them, along the banks of the creek, Naoise paused.

“Let me carry you.” He said.

“Oh that’s…not necessary,” Eddie shook her head.

“It will take much longer to walk.” He pointed out. Eddie mused over it. With Sarah gone she no longer had a ride. She looked up at Naoise’s hopeful face, and perhaps after being human for so long he wished to be something far simpler.

“All right.” Eddie carefully tied up her skirt. She made certain the dagger would remain hidden on her thigh by tying the front of it and leaving the petticoat down. It gave her room to spread her thighs, and thankfully no one save the faerie would see her. His transformation was as easy as the flow of the water and he followed it as her steed.

He moved far too quickly as a horse for her to speak. All conversation had to wait until he was no longer thundering across the countryside. For his gallop always stole her breath and made her life pool around her thighs as she clung tightly to him. She could only lay her head against his neck and watch the river wind and unwind across the fading night.

Her hands ached when he made the final leap across the back fence of the property. They felt cold and dead until life returned to the rest of her body when her feet touched the ground again. She quickly untied the knot and let the dress gather around her knees. She dropped onto the ground, legs beneath her. She only wanted to catch her breath. Naoise knelt before her.

“Are you going to take me home?” she asked softly. He had brought her to the bank of the small pond on the range that had nearly became her entrance into Faerie.

“If that is what you wish,” he said softly. “But don’t we have to discuss the selkie?”

Eddie frowned, “is something out there again? The familiar?”

“No it is not him.” Naoise frowned. He raised his head. “I am not sure what it is, it is far more developed than that imp. It is another fae probably but they are staying just far enough away that I cannot fully discern their location. If we stay near the pond however I can conjure a ward.”

“And you prefer that to the house, wouldn’t you?” Eddie smiled. He gave her a glance and she recalled that days she had made him spend in the barn. Had that been torturous for him? No wonder he had lashed out at her like he had. He said nothing however, he only closed his eyes as he worked magic Eddie could not see or discern.

The desert ass appeared at the tree line. Had this been the spirit Naoise had sensed? As it came near she noticed it had cloven hooves. It could only be Yusuf, and his transformation was as seamless as that of the kelpie to man.

“Wait, before you do so!” He quickly walked up to them, his amber eyes two bright lights in the night. The kelpie snorted but apparently paused in his weaving until the jinn came to rest near them.

“I have been unable to find a way into Regan’s home. It is well protected.” Yusuf informed Eddie when it was safe to speak. She nodded, so he had been staking out Regan’s home this night, as Dougal had told her.

“I have however been able to study the wards and charms he used,” Yusuf continued. “His greatest protection is converged on the upper floor of the home. He has something up there he wants well protected.”

“It has to be the pelt.” Eddie provided and Yusuf nodded at her.

“I came across the clurichaun Regan keeps in his wine cellar. I let him become drunk in my presence and he divulged some of his master’s skill while boasting. Namely that Regan likes to use a charm on a certain urn on the second floor. It moves about the home and always assumes a different form but its content is always the same, ashes.”

“Can you burn selkie pelts?” Eddie asked.

“In order to disguise them,” Naoise mused. “And if it didn’t before it surely now has a spell on it that will cause harm to anyone who attempts to touch that urn.”

“Yes,” Yusuf sadly nodded.

“Regan inviting us to his home is surely a trap of some sort,” Eddie sighed.

“What?” Yusuf asked.

“Regan just invited everyone to a big party there in two weeks.” Eddie felt her cheeks warm. “My brother proposed to Regan’s sister. They are to be married.”

“I am sorry I could not find out more.” The jinn crossed his legs as he leaned against a tree. “Perhaps in those two weeks we’ll find some way to get the pelt.”

“No that’s okay. You’ve given us a starting point at least. We’ll figure something out, even if we do have to jump into Regan’s trap.” Eddie patted the jinn’s hand. He smiled at her. “Don’t do anything to get yourself hurt.”

He promised he wouldn’t, and with a licking of flames that engulfed his body he excused himself from them. He shot across the night sky as a speeding star. Eddie watched in awed delight. When Yusuf’s light had faded away she looked back down to Naoise peering intently at her. She awkwardly looked away, not sure what he wanted.

“So…Kelly and Matt will be married soon…” She could think of nothing else he would want to speak about.

“Mm.” But he didn’t sound interested in their potential nuptials even as he moved to lean over her. He hovered in front of her face. Eddie blinked at him, trying to see what it was he wanted, but his expression was devoid of any trace of thought.

“You…” she swallowed. He traced his fingertips across her cheek and she realized he was hesitating as his lips trembled to form words. She felt her stomach clench as her vision was filled with nothing but his fathomless eyes that held no reflection in the dark night. “So we’ll….be leaving soon…”

“I…want to apologize to you,” he at last interrupted her. Eddie blinked in surprise.

“Oh?” she breathed.

“Aye.” He finally closed the distance and kissed her. It was nearly the same as before, it was forced and not pleasant, even when she wasn’t gagging on blood. She pushed him back and for a second she saw a devastated look on his face. She laid a finger over his gouging lips.

“If you would apologize to me,” she told him. “Open your lips only slightly, and invite me in.”  
He blinked but leaned in again. He did as asked, gently pressing his lips against hers, coaxing her in. She followed his invitation, gently grazing his lips with her teeth before letting her tongue explore his. She took care to avoid his fangs, and broke the kiss with a sigh. He leapt after her, his embrace becoming more forceful, but still asking for permission. She granted it again, even as her fists balled against his chest in response to his arms sliding around her. Her thighs clenched and she knew she should break the embrace. Yet even as the chill of his body sank into her, she wanted him to sweep over her. Even knowing it would drown them both she wanted to go more deeply inside him, let his fangs cut her and herself be vivisected by his body.

In the end however it was Naoise who retreated. He let her go with a gasp and rolled back onto the tree behind him. She bowed her head as she also caught her breath. She let herself lean back against him, and he wrapped his arm around her waist. She laid her head against his neck. Even as she shivered against the cold of his body, the warm wind dried her dress.

“I want to say I’m sorry too,” she sighed. His grip tightened around her. “I wish…we hadn’t met this way but…I’m not regretful we met at all.”

He kissed the top of her head, a gesture so tender and subtle that she knew it was how he felt too. She closed her eyes.

“Are we protected here?” she asked him.

“Aye, so long as I’m here.” He answered.

“Then, stay.” She smiled. His body relaxed around her and within a few minutes Eddie could tell he was truly asleep. She exhaled and reached down to her thigh to untie the dagger. Making certain his breathing had not changed she raised the weapon up. She leaned forward and threw the knife with all of her might. It landed in the pond with a great splash. Naoise startled at the sound but didn’t fully wake up when Eddie leaned back against him and whispered in his ear.

“Just a fish.” And with that she threw away her last chance to save herself.

After watching the dagger sink beneath the surface she fell asleep in the monster’s arms. She had made her decision. She would not be saved. She would not stop what she had started. Perhaps she was in love. Even now she didn’t wish to fully ruminate that she may have already made it impossible to sever the bond between them, whatever happened.

All she wished for was a peaceful night, and she received it in the arms of the beast, counting his infernal heartbeats.

Her comfort made her unwary. For she could not have foreseen their silent and distant stalker converging on the pond and its treasure after they had departed in search of breakfast. Her attention was on Naoise gently holding her hand, and not at all what harm an unattended weapon may do.

Brody only had one duty in Regan's employ; information gathering. The demon was an exceptionally clever creature and he had a long and expansive memory, with a certain morbid curiosity. It was what made him Regan’s right hand man above all the fae and other spirits he kept in his thrall. Unlike the prince Brody had the added benefit of being created without conscience. So long as there was benefit for himself, even just his master’s kind word, he would do whatsoever asked. He was attracted to scandal above all else, as, after all, those made the best stories, and he was by nature petty and spiteful.

Regan Seele kept control over the infernal by keeping him impressed with his skill and cruelty. The half fae lad had captured Brody at only eighteen years old during an adventure in Germany. The brash young man had erased the demon's real name and changed it into Brody, the name of a slave. Oh it had been a tricky sort of magic and the young man had performed it effortlessly. That was more than his Papa being a sidhe; that was true talent and ruthlessness. Regan had spent years honing his skills to make the lives of those around him miserable. Brody adored him.

He included him in all his vicious schemes of course. As a man of the law, a beguiling secretary, and even once a Buddhist priest to Brody’s shrieking delight, he acted as the force behind Regan’s hand. His enemies were ruined by blackmail and outright coercion, his beloved trapped in a cage that she couldn’t even see the bars of.

Tonight however he had been restricted from his usual target of the girl and her kelpie slave. He had instead been sent to watch the new betrothed of his sister. Brody had felt some jealousy that the selkie had been given his target of the last few weeks, but he knew to never touch the fae woman. Nothing was worth the wrath of a magician that could have his infernal heart torn apart by the very hounds of hell.

In his guise of a small, black dog Brody chased after the scent of the man. He had disappeared some minutes before in the company of Kelly. True to human nature they had absconded to a bedroom after a morning of wine drinking. He dispersed his particles and slipped through the wall to reform his body on the other side of the locked door.

A nude female back greeted him. The woman’s hair was in damp knots that flared across her flushed skin in lines of filigree. Her lover toyed with the ends of it, his arm lazily hooked over the incline of her waist. Brody recognized the full buttocks as those of his master's sister. He had after all been watching her since she'd been loved by the predecessor of this Jai Darzi. The demon cackled and crawled to lie beneath the bed.

"It's strange when I look at Naoise Burne, it's hard to describe. It's almost like, I knew him in another lifetime. Nostalgic, almost." Kelly said softly. Her slurred words indicated she was drunk. Brody rolled onto his back, oh what sort of love-talk was _this_?

"Déjà vu?" The man suggested, just as intoxicated.

"Mm. Perhaps yet when I look at Jai…I almost feel the same way. I even feel like my memories of him sometimes…are indistinct…" She sighed deeply. "Oh, never mind, I think I'm just being silly, or I've had too much stress at work—"

"No, I think I understand. I…never really told anyone about this, but I was born with a dead twin." Matthew answered, the bed creaking as he shifted his weight towards her. His voice dropped to a whisper, "so I think I live a bit with a ghost over me, especially as it was a brother. I don't really believe in the supernatural, but I think God may allow for it."

"Oh Matty," Kelly sighed, the mattress groaning in pleasure as she moved towards him. "Do you think I'm seeing too far then so to speak?"

"I think you're a sensitive soul that sees what others cannot." A breathy kiss ghosted over some appendage of the woman's, she whimpered ardently in return.

"My love," Kelly cried softly. The mattress squeaked in suspense as she moved to hold the man again.

"Yes, and I can say the same." He breathed and seconds later the bed squeaked in their ardent love-making. And the poodle snickered, he knew a secret to tell his master now! He rolled out from underneath the bed. He vanished through the wall where the light of the bracelet on Kelly’s wrist threw an amethyst spangling of stars. He barked in joy and was shushed by the old bitch through her bedroom door. He ran down the stairs and threw himself in Regan’s lap.

And there he told Regan how he may at last murder the man who would kill all of his malicious dreams.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter is where the story begins to earn its "M" rating due to violence with includes horrific injuries such as near vivisection and amputation.

Those last two weeks belonged to no one but Eddie and Naoise.

Eddie spent most of her afternoons with him on the shore of the lake. She often sat along a small cliff face of a great granite boulder that had been pushed up out of the earth. It faced the shore and a small nook had been worn into its surface that was just large enough for Eddie to sit back in. Those two weeks were a corridor for rain. It showered on and off through-out those final days.

She would curl in the embrace of the cliff face as comfortably as Naoise would sit on a rock outside letting the rain drum on his body. Sometimes he even smiled at her through his soaked hair that spread across his face like weeds. For him at least the rain was an event to be enjoyed not frowned at like a nuisance as it laid its nourishing touch across the land.

Eddie knew however that gentle tremor was also slowly wearing away the rock over centuries of slow eroding.

Their conversations mostly centered on sabotage. She had also spent her time in the library looking for glimpses of Lorna Seele in the old records. They had been sparse, the disastrous plan to re-route the river and drain the lake had been indefinitely postponed due to a need for “further planning”. A few months later and there was the announcement of the marriage of Michael Seele and the only MacGregor daughter.

The fact the couple had been pictured above the shoulders spoke of a polite declination to show a pregnant bride. Eddie could see the beauty in that face she saw in Kelly's and wondered if this was what had drawn Rhona into the net. Yet the woman's smile radiated from no certain origin. It was not vapid, or even faked, but it floated in a void not connected to the man besides her or any residual happiness from the event being celebrated.

There was no mention of the woman who had been left behind in Lorna Seele's wake. Not even her obituary made any mention of Rhona, beyond perhaps she may have been the one to call for emergency help that day. There was no direct mention of who had made that attempt to save Lorna Seele's life however. It was rather fitting her death had apparently been ruled a sudden and massive heart attack.

Had the selkie been nothing but a shadow following after the path of the person she loved?

There were no clues at all where the pelt may be hidden within the records. Naoise suggested the urn the pelt now rested in may be enchanted so that Rhona alone could not see it, so it may be hidden within plain sight to anyone else. How horrible to think what we may wish for, lay in anguish for, may be within our reach but we are unable to see it. Such torture. No wonder Rhona's face was lined with the exhaustion of someone who had spent centuries searching for something.

In time all things were worn away, even hope.

Yet as Eddie watched the rain run down Naoise's face and drip off his hair, she wondered what may be wearing away from him. Even rock was left with impressions of everything that had touched it. What sort of mark may she have left on him? Would he ever think of her when she was gone? Or would their time together been too brief to leave even one crack?

Perhaps her only legacy would be that she had known something immortal, and while eternity may still belong to God alone, not all things were enslaved by time.

They discussed the missing pelt with Yusuf. MacGregor must have been aware there was something afoot given Yusuf’s absences, but he made no attempt to question Eddie when he did visit her or they saw one another in town. MacGregor had taken to interviewing the older generation, though they were all surely younger than himself, about the history of Orangeblossom in order to write a book about the subject matter. If this was to update himself about the place he had abandoned, or a way to distract himself from impending disaster, Eddie was uncertain. She was grateful he seemed content, for now, to stay out of her affairs.

Despite Yusuf’s care and inability to breach the Seele home even when Regan was gone, they all knew they could not have hidden their operation from the magician. They were only three and Regan had at least a few dozen spirits in his retinue. They were simply outmanned. Even if Naoise could have won by sheer brutal strength, subtlety is what reconnaissance called for and they hadn’t the resources for it. Yusuf suggested they perhaps contact his mistress but Eddie protested the plan. She didn’t trust the woman to not usurp their intentions in accordance with her own biased world views.

“She treats me like I’m an idiot and I wouldn’t put it past her that she would let Naoise be killed in order to ‘save’ me!” Eddie had snapped. Naoise had even sat back in some mollification, though it didn’t show on his face.

Yusuf took some moderate offense to the idea but when he saw Eddie would cut him out of the plan before she let Nejem intercede, he gave in.

“May Allah protect us all in this endeavor.” The jinn had sighed.

It could not be escaped; they were coming and Regan knew it. The trap had to be sprung before they could figure out how to jump out of it. The fact he had not even bothered to hide his intentions was not only galling but a gleeful admission of truth. They were playing by his rules because they had no other choice.

When they were alone Eddie and Naoise didn’t discuss her legacy. Their wedding date was fast approaching, but neither one of them mentioned it. They only indulged in the time they still had left upon the Earth with silent comfort and conversations about nothing important at all. Time was to be enjoyed, and not wasted by looking ahead into the future.

If only it would never come, but come it must, and they could no more stop it than they could their movements across Regan’s game board.

 

 

Underwhelmed, Sarah felt certain, was actually a word. While its opposite may be better known, she felt as if the obscure term fitted her current feeling. Though of course it was expected by her mother she should fall to her knees in awe of the grand home, swoon at the doormen in their red jackets, be impressed by the onyx stairs, shiver at the Persian carpets, and weep at the exquisite ice sculpture of a swan.

It was like any other engagement party really, with people not thinking about the bride and groom so much as smirking at one another and seeing how drunk they could get. It was like any party really. It didn't matter who the guests were and who the host was, people behaved the same in all circumstances. This provision kept Sarah from rarely ever being surprised or impressed with anyone or anything.

The only unique thing about _this_ one was the certain clashing of cultures. Next to the delicate pastries and vivacious food of a professional was the rough and taciturn fare of a meddling ranch wife. Both the groom and bride had tried to keep the respective food coordinators away from one another even as each woman eyed from the opposite end of the table which dishes were being the most served.

Sarah couldn't help but to snicker at the passive-aggressive scuffle and the accompanying gossip. It would seem the Moreno-Seele marriage would provide the town with amusement for years to come. It was almost a pity she would have to leave. She looked at where Eddie was sitting on the stairs that lead to the outside garden and were well within view of the lawn where the festivities were centered. How wonderful the rain had ceased for this one night!

Regan Seele’s home was, in a word, “overdone”. The home was built into the mountainside so that what flat land there was could be bordered by expansive gardens and a small wood on its east side. Of course such wide tracts of land also meant quite a bit of privacy from the neighbors and that had probably been the old Seele’s intention. The old man was probably doing backflips in his grave to see the wash of Orangeblossom scattered across his great lawns and winding rose paths.

The few elites who were probably here by Regan’s command, for Gwen had confirmed with a sigh Katharine Seele would have none of her hoity-toity friends in attendance, were clustered in the foyer, sipping their wine glasses with anxious glances in case a stranger came up and talked to them. Gwen was sitting at the bottom of those onyx stairs, looking unbearably bored as she fiddled with her phone. Sarah had been warned to not approach her with her mother around, and Sarah could appease that request.

Just so she could later ask a favor of the Almighty Queen of Teen.

These past few weeks she had been cultivating a friendship with the younger woman, sprung from the night of the dance. Sarah had comforted her that night. She had been chagrined to find she had found no pleasure in seeing Gwen’s fantasy dissolve. She had seen in the girl what she had once found in herself; a denial of her true self for the approval of her mother. Sarah had become embittered by the age of sixteen and had refused to be anyone but herself ever since. Gwen was a more stubborn sort, but nevertheless, her dream was dying.

The youngest Seele had no one else to turn to if she would open up to a near stranger about her frustrated desires. Sarah knew that loneliness as well. She had not met Eddie until she was eighteen after all. Gwen was prickly, but she was also naïve. Sarah enjoyed that respite from the cynicism that often colored her world. Right now all she wanted to be was a friend to Gwen, but when she came of age in a month or two if she wished to become intimate, that would be fine as well. Sarah was unattached right now, and would be for a while more.

Sarah smirked at her friend and Eddie just rolled her eyes, already aware this is what every Christmas and birthday would be like from now on. Naoise, who was sitting beside her, cautiously put his arm around Eddie's shoulders. She stiffened for a second then relaxed in his hold. Sarah looked away and not wishing to interfere with the always incredibly awkward love birds, and with her mother preoccupied with her newest boyfriend and her younger brother preoccupied with burning rose buds off the bushes outside, she went to find someone she could harass.

That person turned out to be Stan Ngo as he sat in a chair in the foyer with a glass of wine and bemused, hopelessly lost among his uncle’s business associates. The merlot stained the tapestry carpet that depicted the Battle of Hastings, implying William the Conqueror's head had been taken off in the fight. Stan cursed and Sarah's hold around his chest only became tighter.

"Let me go you twat!" he yelped as he tried to stand. Sarah just laughed and let him pull her along as he tried to storm away from his former seat.

"Such a hello! Oh Stanny-boy you're makin' me wonder if I should share this bit of weed with you." Sarah breathed into his ear. He paused and looked back at her incredulously. She beamed at him.

"Would you rather pass the evening dying of boredom? I picked it up in North Vale at the train station." She rolled her head towards the outside with a sly grin. "Come on, let's have some real _fun_. Even the Seeles be hilarious after a good smoke I bet."

"You're not mad at me?" He asked lowly. Oh, the elephant in the room. Sarah rolled her eyes and they fell on Gwen who looked away as soon as they met gazes.

"Stan if I had wanted a romance I would not have fucked _you_ ," Sarah told him bluntly. He blushed in humiliation but Sarah didn't believe tact got the point across in these sorts of situations. She smiled to soften the blow. "It was just a roll in the hay and you were good enough then. Let's remain friends though and not be stupid about such things."

She let him go and walked away, if he followed, great, if not, she would find someone else to entertain her. She sent a covert text to Gwen asking if she would not also join them in the woods. It was quickly denied, apparently she did no such things. Sarah spared Gwen the revelation this is why she was so uptight.

Like a good man however Stan quickly followed on her heels. She led him past the offended Katharine the Great, unaware of what even greater insult to her hospitality was about to be committed, past the carousing mothers of the town who laid praise and criticism on the bride's choice of a yellow dress for the party, and past the fathers who offered the groom every sort of advice possible from how to change a diaper to how to dismantle a toilet.

The pair paused before Eddie and her lover who were speaking lowly to each other but not sweet words given the woman's slight frown. Eddie startled when Sarah greeted her. Sarah put her hand on her friend's shoulders and pulled her away from her entrancing suitor to whisper her own sweet words in her ear.

"Hey, got a bit of pot and Stan and I are about to go smoke in the woods back there. You in?"  
"Really?" Eddie asked with a small snort that sounded amused.

"Yep." Eddie shook her head at Sarah’s confirmation.

"Sorry, I can't, Matt be so hurt if he could smell it on me later." Eddie sighed and glanced at her brother. The man was speaking enthusiastically to an older gentleman with a beaming Kelly on his arm. Sarah decided this was fair enough and released her friend.

The night was relatively cool with no wind. Of course in the embrace of the marijuana neither she nor Stan would feel much cold even if they remained within the shadows of the woods. Away from the light of the home and celebration Sarah looked at the slow drift of stars above the treetops. Stan spied her singular exploration and paused.

"What're you doin'?"

"Thinking of how high we may fly," Sarah said airily as she stretched her arms towards the distant heavenly bodies. How she had longed to fly away from here since she had been small. She had disliked only familiar faces, places, and nothing new to be known she had not already discovered as a girl roaming the fields and washes of the valley. Her existence was stifling and boring, only punctuated from its predictable routine when she took action. Yet it seemed just on the eve of her flight to find more exciting and varied people and places, things had just become so much more interesting in Orangeblossom.

And best of all, by no volition of hers.

“Hey…” Stan interrupted her musing after he had wandered a few paces away. Sarah looked up and found him standing before the mountainside.

“What?” She blinked as she came to stand before what looked like a dilapidated wood door. Stan shook his head and gently leaned against the rotted wood. It fell in, revealing what looked like the entrance of a cave.

“Oh, cool,” Sarah sighed. She extinguished the blunt on the ground and stepped inside. Stan hesitated but followed her in after a few steps. She turned back towards him, “I wonder if maybe this leads into the house. Secret tunnel.”

“It looks like a natural cave,” Stan frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “It smells like blood in here.”

“Oh that’s just mineral you smell. Look,” Sarah held up her phone and exposed a small stream running down the middle of the cave by the light of its screen. A wind suddenly picked up and ruffled their hair and clothes. Sarah shook her head, “and see? It has another end. That wind didn’t come from where we came from.”

But they didn’t venture further. In the darkness they found a small outcropping of rock that had been worn down by centuries of water running down the walls and joining the stream that eventually vanished deeper in the cave. They sat behind the moist stones and finished their joints. They didn’t know why they felt no desire to venture further, it wasn’t fear, it was a simple forgetfulness. They became preoccupied instead with watching the glide of sparkling mineral across the walls as the light shifted in the cave. It was a miniature night, for their eyes alone.

Though no light at all should have existed in the great darkness of the cave.

 

 

Eddie sighed as she watched Sarah and Stan melt into the woods. Every time her friends walked away from her she wondered if this would be the last time they saw one another. Naoise stood and gently pulled her to her feet. They had decided just before Sarah and Stan had appeared that there was no time like the present.

Yusuf was hidden in a bauble around Eddie’s neck. It appeared as a cobalt sphere. The old legends about jinn being trapped within objects was apparently true, though all Eddie had to do was shatter the bauble to release the jinn. In this way he was disguised from Regan’s spirits. She held the bauble tightly as they walked into the foyer.

Matthew had looked at her questioningly as he and Kelly spoke to some older couple Eddie did not recognize. Eddie only shook her head at him and tried to smile to assuage any fears he had. This was Matthew's time to shine, to show the community he deserved Kelly and they would form a union of true love. She would not dim that light and would not allow anyone else to eclipse it.

She looked about for the master of the home and found she could not locate him. The last time she had seen Regan was when she had arrived with Mindy about two hours before. He had been as charming and polite as ever. He didn't even react to Naoise's snide remark about opening his home to all creatures. He had opened the door wide and given the kelpie full access to his home.

She had not seen Rhona at all. Was the selkie gone? Hidden? Had Regan taken her away so that even if she retrieved the pelt Eddie would be unable to give her gift? They passed Gwen on the stairs. The girl glanced back at the pair, started to say something, and fell silent. She looked away, not in disgust or regret, but in an apparent fit of forgetfulness.

Near the top of the stairwell Eddie raised a hand to her forehead and hesitated. Naoise stepped next to her and touched her shoulder.

"Something wrong?"

"I…what are we here for again?" she asked with a blink. For the life of her she could not remember.

"We had decided we would try to find the pelt." Naoise explained and Eddie felt like this was the very first time she'd heard of this.

"No, no, no that's not it. We should go somewhere else…" Eddie began to move away and Naoise caught her arm.

"It's a ward and it starts at the top of the stairs." He informed her. Eddie blinked as she tried to grasp the concept.

“Like the seal on your lake?”

“Aye.” He nodded and her memories began to segue back to her. Yusuf was in her hand, the promise she had made the selkie, and above all else, what had brought her to stand her at this very moment.

"So Yusuf was right," Eddie mused as Naoise reached for her hand. She gave it to him in understanding he must lead her in. “You can get past it?”

He nodded and narrowed his eyes. "It's not even nearly strong enough to keep myself away, or even really affect the weakest fae."

"Could it be because he still wishes for Rhona and the others to have access to up here?" Eddie suggested, distracting herself as she closed her eyes to walk past the top step. She gasped as that horrid feeling like she was about to see her own death slowly evaporated as she took more and more steps forward.

“It has no effect on me either.” Yusuf’s voice was small but legible from inside the bauble.

"Perhaps," Naoise said warily as he gently put his hand on Eddie's lower back to push her forward. “Or perhaps he simply _wants_ us up here.”

She quickly regained her step but his hand remained. She glanced at Naoise who kept his face turned forward. He was obviously straining to hear something. The sound of a trap snapping shut.

They walked by a mirror and she caught sight of her reflection that was wan and fearful against the red sweater he was wearing. The top always showed just how dark Naoise's eyes could look, especially when he felt threatened by something. She looked away and tried to push the free strands of her hair back behind her ear. The bauble rattled in her hand.

“Which one?” she held Yusuf close to her mouth as she whispered.

“It is unlikely it would be in an obvious place as the master bedroom,” Eddie held the bauble to her ear. “Start with the ones who belong to family members.”

Eddie sighed as save for the double doors of the master suite, any room was as good as any other given all the doors were closed. “We need to split up. Careful, Yusuf.”

She removed the chain from around her neck. With one swing she smashed the bauble against the wall. There was a flash of flame and Yusuf congealed from the smoke to stand before them.

“Start at this end, I will start at the other.” The jinn disappeared, leaving Eddie and Naoise to start with the rooms near the master bedroom.

As they turned a corner they were met by the woman they had discussed only minutes before. She suddenly appeared behind them after opening a bedroom door. In her long black dress with a full skirt she almost looked to be in mourning. The ring floated above her breasts in full view; a caveat.

Eddie should have heeded the warning.

She looked up at Eddie when her name was called with a look of regret. Eddie moved to step forward to greet her but Naoise suddenly put his arm up stopping her and pushing her behind him. Before she could even turn her head to cry out at him she saw a flash of light in Rhona's hands. The next second she caught a glimpse of the dagger she had thrown away into the pool suddenly make an upwards arch towards Naoise's neck and face. He pushed her aside and leapt back before Eddie even hit the wall.

"Rhona!" Eddie screamed. The fae woman paused in her attack drawing the dagger towards her breast and facing outwards like a recoiled snake waiting to strike again. Eddie pushed herself off against the wall to raise an arm towards the selkie. "Stop! Why are you-?"

"Get back," Rhona warned and slashed the blade towards the woman. Her vision was suddenly filled with impending death that flew only millimeters away from a killing blow. A few hairs from Eddie's head fluttered in the wake of its vicious slice. She recalled Regan's warning the blade was sharp enough to pierce a kelpie's hide. Eddie reeled back in her attempt to avoid having her throat slashed open and was caught by Naoise. Rhona righted herself from her attack and looked at the pair with slit eyes. "I would not like to spill innocent blood in this, but I have no direct orders to spare her."

Naoise lunged at those words in an obvious attempt to move the battle away from Eddie. He pushed Rhona back at the full brunt of his fury, the fae woman didn’t even raise her blade. Instead she moved back, letting Naoise strike at her again and again. They moved only a few feet down the hall before they stood directly in front of the master suite.

Naoise paused as Rhona raised the blade. He glowered at the selkie, daring her to charge him with her weapon. Her other hand rose, but not in surrender. Instead it fell upon the wall behind her. A completely undistinguishable point. When her hand crashed against it however the floor opened up.

“Naoise!” Eddie screamed. For a second they were suspended in the air. Rhona raised her blade, and they disappeared. The floor swallowed them into its chasm.

Eddie ran to the edge of the cavern. She couldn’t see entirely to the bottom but the hole tunneled past the lower story. Did it go all the way into the earth below?

“Yusuf! Yusuf!” she screamed for the jinn. She met him in the hall. She described what she had seen and showed him the void.

“It’s a mortal tunnel,” he told her. “In that it doesn’t appear to go anywhere but down. Can you not feel the wind on your face?”

“Yusuf, we have to get down there.” Eddie gulped. “She means to kill him! That blade can kill him!”

“She’s on orders from Regan, the only way we could stop her is by freeing her from his bondage.”

“The pelt! The pelt!” Eddie gasped and threw open the nearest door. She grabbed for the nearest urn she could see. Yusuf pulled her hands back however before she could touch it.

“The urn is likely enchanted! Remember? Touching it will likely erase your memory, maybe even kill you.”

Eddie gasped, “Then how will we get it to Rhona?”

“ _I_ will touch it,” Yusuf frowned. “The magic won’t have as much of an effect on me.”

“As much?” Eddie groused but before she could stop him, he touched the urn before them. It proved to be nothing more than a fancy vase. Eddie sighed, well after all this appeared to be Gwen’s room with the roses and boy band posters. Eddie was struck by a sudden thought.

“Hey, Naoise said it was likely in plain sight. Well, old man Seele died a few months ago. Wouldn’t it be just peachy if he was not cremated and in an urn somewhere around here?”

Yusuf looked intrigued. “And where would they keep such an urn?”

Eddie stiffened. “Oh that fucking bastard! This was a red herring all along! The pelt was never here! It was just to get Naoise up here where he has it protected from human eyes! The urn is probably in the family room!”

They rushed back down the stairs. Eddie pushed past startled guests as Yusuf hovered invisibly overhead. They pulled open the heavy wooden doors that had closed the part of the home not open to the public. Down a small hallway Eddie and Yusuf found the family room with an adjacent parlor and porch.

And resting upon the fireplace in the family room was a small urn, engraved with the name “Michael Joseph Seele”. As Eddie felt it must have been, since she had first spied it the night she had come here to speak with Regan. She had been unable to see the plaque, but she knew families usually kept their deceased where they could all see. It had been in plain sight all along.

Yusuf appeared before the urn and laid his hands upon it. He gave a great cry and fell to the floor. Eddie fell to her knees beside him and inhaled at his stunned expression. She gently shook his shoulder.

“Yusuf?” she asked worriedly. He blinked at her.

“Eddie, what am I doing here?” he glanced down. “Why am I holding an urn? Where am I?”

Eddie sighed, so that’s what the spell had been. It must have made him forget everything to do with the pelt. She helped him sit back up. At least otherwise he seemed unhurt. Eddie gathered up a throw blanket.

“Just rest. I’ll explain it all to you in a minute. But right now,” she wrapped the urn in the blanket as she took it from him, “Naoise needs me.”

Yusuf frowned at this information but Eddie had already left him. She ventured over to the parlor whose north wall was the mountain side. The tunnel must be behind this wall. Did it have another opening? She began to push against it as she held the urn tightly to her. She felt tears forming in her eyes in frustration. She didn’t want to run back up the stairs as it take too long, but she may be wrong and the only way into the tunnel was before the master bedroom.

And what if Naoise was already dead?

“Eddie.” She turned to see Jai standing behind her, and Yusuf more distantly on the floor of the family room. The prince was dressed as immaculately as ever in a cream suit. He didn’t smile however, he only looked at her with a despairing expression.

“Jai! Please! Please help me! Rhona took Naoise down the tunnel and she means to kill him!” Eddie pleaded with him. Jai looked away from her tears and she gave a small hysterical scream. “No! Don’t do that! Damn it, I know he’s a monster to you! But he-! If he dies I won’t be this person I am now! I don’t think…I’ll ever be happy ever again!”

Jai absorbed her words like the rush of the sea. He raised his head and gritted his teeth. For a second Eddie thought he meant to strike her in his fury. He moved towards her and reached over her head. She flinched as his hand closed around the chain of a lamp suspended overhead. He pulled and opened the wall. Eddie gave a small cry of relief.

“Eddie?” Yusuf was now standing in the doorway of the parlor. She shook her head at him.

“Get Mr. MacGregor,” she told him. Better Yusuf be in his company with an impaired memory than alone in Regan’s home. She had a feeling the old man was not going to be able to do much however.

Jai slid his arm around Eddie’s waist when she turned back towards the tunnel. “You can’t jump down it alone. It’s a great height, and you at the very least break your legs upon impact.”

“Then what do I do?” she asked him.

“Hold onto me.” He told her. She held the urn to her breast with one hand, and put her other arm around his neck. He picked up her legs and carried her to the edge of the abyss. He paused, inhaled, and leapt into the darkness.

They fell at a terrifying speed. Eddie couldn’t see the ground rushing up at her in the darkness but she could feel the wind rip across her face and hair. She closed her eyes and waited for that crushing landing. Yet those last few seconds in Jai’s arms she felt as light as a leaf or billowing cloth. They touched the ground in slow repose.

The cavern was lighted by a series of hanging lamps. They flickered in the wind and Eddie realized they were lit by candle. The ancient cave hosted a small spring in its center, apparently fed by a small stream. The great expanse before her was deserted, filled with only the sounds of echoes. It was the cacophony of rushing bodies, for no scream or cry was legible to her ear. The emotional surfeit of the battle gave the air its oppression and rattled the pebbles on the ground. Blood spilled across the walls and floors from unseen combatants.

Naoise must still be alive.

Yet for brief seconds she thought she could catch glimpses of contorted bodies. She clutched the urn, she must find some way to see! She must approach Rhona with the pelt! Any hope of illusion was broken however when a scream ripped across the air belonging to no human or animal.

By the spring Rhona appeared, her shoulder torn wide open to expose the bone to the soft candlelight above. Before her was a black stallion with a blood covered muzzle. His fangs glistened as his mouth lay open from panting. Eddie was reminded of the first time she had ever seen the kelpie; as a beast of brutal cruelty. Eddie dared not call out his name for the next second Rhona lunged and they were lost again for a few seconds.

Eddie fretted about what she must do, but the battle was drawing to a close. Naoise suddenly rolled across the stones. He crashed as a horse but landed as a man. He curled in agony on his side at a large gash across his chest. Rhona stepped before him with his blood still dripping off her blade. Her mutilated shoulder was painfully ripped open but she seemed to ignore the mess of blood and flesh. Eddie’s feet at last began to move.

_I'm not going to get there in time!_ Eddie gasped but dared not falter as she tried to close the distance on her clumsy legs that were tied to the earth and could not leave it to even save one life. She forced herself to run as fast as she could not daring to imagine the agony of arriving a second too late.

"Is that the form you wish to die in?" Rhona asked lowly. Naoise did not answer save raising his head to glower at her. Rhona raised the dagger for a killing drive into his heart. Naoise opened his mouth to suddenly utter his last words.

"Eddie!" The selkie startled at the sudden noise but drew the blade up to finish her task, mistaking the name for a cry of regret. She dropped the blade when the urn suddenly shattered over her head. She staggered back a few steps and looked at the human woman who had suddenly appeared in total shock. Eddie and Rhona both marveled at the fine film of ash that had coated her after exploding from the urn. Then suddenly the fae woman gave a cry of ecstatic delight.

Eddie stumbled back and fell next to Naoise as she kept her eyes on the triumphing fae woman. The ashes suddenly moved across her body to form a vortex centered on the selkie's solar plexus. The woman raised her uninjured hand as the mauled one still lay uselessly at her side. With a gentle smile she seemed to arrange the shape of the ash into a solidified form. As she drew her hand forward what fell into it was a pelt, the pelt of a gray seal, the pelt of a selkie, hidden for thirty-three years from her. Rhona raised it up before tear filled eyes.

"Rhona!" Regan suddenly appeared a few feet away, apparently drawn down a distant flight of stairs in a fury. He reached out towards the selkie but she turned away. In an instant she was at the edge of the spring that was the center of the blood splattered arena.

"Don't go! Please!" Regan pleaded. He even drew up his hands in desperation like a child would. The selkie ignored him and after laying her pelt across her shoulders vanished in a second with no word of good bye. Rhona had exited from the man's life with no curse, no requiem, nothing but a small and cruel smile. Eddie could not even take satisfaction she had managed to save one life when another may be slipping away right before her eyes.

Eddie turned away from Regan's devastated look to Naoise. She tried to close his wound shut with her bare hands. His sweater had become black with blood, and it spilled over her hands as she futilely tried to perform triage. She wished to look away for she could see his split ribs and breast bone that exposed the viscera of his internal organs to the night air. She used the discarded throw blanket to cover the wound and tried to stay the flow by pressing down on it as hard as she could. If he was a man he surely would be dead by now let as a fae he was allowed to suffer on.

"Naoise, Naoise, oh Naoise," Eddie said helplessly. She had absolutely no idea what to do. Should she try to find Kelly? Could they even take him to a hospital?

"I need, to go to my lake, to Faerie," he explained. He grimaced and reached for her wrist. Eddie nodded and looked towards the spring where Rhona had fled. It should be enough to just get him into the water to escape.

Then a shadow fell across Naoise's face and Eddie looked back at Regan looming over them with the dagger. Naoise tried to push her away again but Eddie would not allow it this time. She laid over him, even putting her throat over his.

"If you want to kill him you're going to have to kill me too." She warned the enchanter as the kelpie hissed in her ear in anger.

"Get away Eddie," Regan warned making an agitated motion for her to do so. Eddie only held on tighter to Naoise as he tried to right himself beneath her.

"Regan! Stop!" Jai grasped the wrist with the dagger. Regan pulled his hand away and pointed the weapon at the man's face. Jai stepped back wide eyes as he stared at where Regan's face was half hidden in shadow as the candlelight flickered overhead. It didn't obscure his wild look of rage and hurt however. He was snarling with his teeth bared and his eyes wide with all the look of a desperate beast.

"Don't interfere, damn you. Think of what you owe me!" Regan shrieked. Eddie felt herself cower at that distressed sound. She had known such pain and anger. She knew that Regan was far from rational at this moment. He was a man who had just had his heart torn out.

"You would kill him right in front of her?" Jai protested.

"Regan!" Eddie cried. She saw no forgiveness in those eyes but she would plead for Naoise's life all the same for she could do nothing else.

"Don't do it, please! I know you want to do what is right. I know you want to protect me and everyone else! That is why you started using magic isn't it? To save people? But this would only be murder! Naoise is weak and it wouldn't be fair! Let him go! It would be a crime! He was only defending his own life!" She argued, feeling tears fall as she did. She didn't know why such horror had suddenly erupted across the night beyond it had been by Regan's hand. Let him find mercy however and realize Rhona had left because of his own cruelty!

Whatever reservations that Regan may have had about committing cold blooded murder seemed to evaporate at the speech however. With a snarl he grabbed Eddie's hair to throw her off of the kelpie. She grasped at his wrist to try to twist out of his hold but he only held on tighter at her struggling.

"I have had _enough_ of your idiocy!" he told her as she cried out in pain. Jai started to say something and moved to grasp Eddie to pull her away from Regan. Suddenly a dark and furious shadow erupted across the corner of Eddie’s vision and sliced through the cold night air. Eddie was dropped back down onto the cave floor next to the fae whose life she had just pleaded for.

She looked up to see Naoise's mouth had become far too large and ringed with fangs to be that of a man's. His glamour had been ruptured to allow her to see the true jaws of a kelpie as he attacked. She saw his teeth first, then the skin they were embedded in, then the wrist he was slowly tearing apart with the flesh already beginning to rip below his jaw line.

Finally she looked up to see Regan's expression of pure disbelief, the pain of his injury had not yet reached his mind. Even though the kelpie's teeth were clamped into the man's wrist with vicious strength and the blood flowed in torrents down Regan's arm, he only stared at the fae with an incredulous look. The magician's face went white with shock at last however when the kelpie suddenly wrenched his head back and with a distinct crack for every bone that was shattered beneath his fangs. The wrist and hand were torn off with the dagger still clenched in Regan's fist.

Before Eddie could react to the horror of Regan reeling back with a bloody stump clenched to his chest Naoise grabbed her around her waist. She didn't protest and only continued to stare in complete disbelief as the injured kelpie dragged her the short distance to the spring. They left the enchanter to fall to his knees in agony as he was helplessly attended by the prince. Eddie only became cognizant of anything else on earth but Regan's pain as the cold water suddenly enveloped her. She turned and twining her hands into the kelpie's mane she allowed herself to be pulled away from the horrific scene.

 

 

 

 

Sarah had awoken from a soft and warm dream into a gruesome nightmare. She began to loathe her wish that Orangeblossom would become more interesting. Fate had been tempted and it had responded with a challenge. Sarah had fallen back into Stan and clung to him in a terrified shock for a few minutes as the scene of Regan Seele's hand being ripped off by the jaws of a man who was really a monster played again and again across her eyes.

His screams quickly chased away all memory of the previous ten minutes spent in the embrace of a cloying drug. She had barely begun her journey to the stars. The influence of the marijuana had been too calm and loving to be responsible for the horror that had suddenly lashed out at them.

They had been drawn further in by the sound of a man’s voice, and then Eddie’s. No one had noticed their arrival. They had quickly ducked down behind a boulder at the violence that had erupted.

Jai Darzi pulled Regan up and began moving him towards the staircase. He had raced down the stairs as opposed to how Eddie had suddenly appeared out of the darkness. Stan had been right, there was more than one entrance to this cavern. Once alone the pair began heading in the opposite direction. They didn’t speak about what they had seen, talking about it would make it real.

They were stopped in their escape however by two men blocking the back exit. Sarah recognized them from the café, the Scot and the Arab guy. She stepped back when she saw the amber color of the eyes of the former. She had a disconcerting thought that he wasn’t human and she shivered as the sight of those gaping fangs replayed in her mind.

“What did you see?” the Scot demanded.

“None of your business!” Sarah snapped. Stan glanced at her and she shook her head at him. The Scot furrowed his brow and rubbed the back of his neck.

“These two are friends of Eddie Moreno,” the other man informed him. Sarah tensed at the mention of Eddie. Had she really seen her disappear into that spring? Why had they even come closer to all that blood and agony?

“Then they can appreciate that we must know what happened to her.” The Scot pressed. Sarah crossed her arms.

“Why?” she glowered. “All I can remember is you two weirdoes bugging her!”

“Please,” the amber-eyed man’s voice was gentle. “If you don’t tell us what happened tonight in this cave, we may all never see your friend ever again.”

Sarah’s shoulders dropped. “Why? Why should I tell you? Why should I trust you?”

“Because your friend may have been spirited away this evening,” Amber Eyes explained. “By something like myself.”

At those words he transformed. He was suddenly an inferno that licked up the cave walls. His flames didn’t burn, they brushed over Sarah and Stan in a consuming warmth. Sarah felt something inside her break and she fell to her knees.

This was all real.

“He took her!” she at last cried out in agony as her world fell around her. “Naoise Burne! I don’t know what he is! But he has jaws like a monster. He tore off Regan’s hand and took her into the spring!”

“Tore off Regan’s hand?” the Scot repeated. His companion reconfigured his flames into the form of a human body. He assumed the outline of a young man dressed in an ankle long robe with boots. The details of clothing, hair, and flesh simmered over the flames leaving only his eyes to continue burning. Sarah shivered at the sight, but Stan was as unperturbed as the Scot by it.

“His woman was trying to kill Naoise.” Stan interjected. “She had a big blade that opened up his chest. Eddie poured some ashes on her and she took off through that spring too. After she left Regan tried to finish the job but Naoise tore off his hand instead. That Indian guy took him up the stairs.”

Sarah gave a small hysterical laugh. To hear it out loud was ludicrous! Yet it was all true. To her further torment the red head absorbed it all in and nodded. He knew it was all true.

“So that’s why you had the urn Yusuf, it was the selkie’s pelt.” He mused to his companion.

“Selkie?” Sarah asked. The Scot shook his head.

“It’s a tale for later, lass.” He turned towards the apparent Yusuf. “You go and find Eddie, I’ll try to do damage control around here.”

Sarah stood up, “you can rescue Eddie?”

“It will be difficult if they have already passed beyond this world,” Yusuf told her. “It may take me years if this is so, but nevertheless, I will rescue her.”

“I’m coming with you,” Sarah narrowed her eyes and raised her chin. She would bear the weight of this crushing world for her friend alone. Yusuf frowned and shook his head.

“It will be very dangerous, and you may never see the Earth again.”

“I don’t care!” Sarah snapped. “You never answered me before ‘why should I trust you?’ It’s because neither one of you have a reason why, do you?!”

Both of them were stunned into silence. Sarah glared at them both. Stan put his hand on Sarah’s shoulder.

“I’ll come too. It’s fairer this way and besides, I’ve always wanted to have an adventure.” Sarah raised an eyebrow at Stan and wondered if the excitement of the evening was not even more intoxicating than the marijuana.

“This is nothing like you may have seen on the telly or read in books,” the red head frowned.

“I know, but, someone told me I have the blood of a dragon. I like to see what it’s worth.” Stan shrugged and the red head almost rolled his eyes in frustration.

“But either way,” Sarah continued, “I’m overseeing this rescue because I know I have Eddie’s best interests in mind.”

The Scot sighed and turned to Yusuf. “It’s probably better if they leave with you because then they won’t have their memories altered by Regan. Right now they’re the only witnesses of what happened here. Hala may yell at me but this is my decision. Don’t let them get hurt but don’t let them get in the way either.”

Yusuf nodded and walked up to them both. He held out his hands. “Naoise would have gone back to Lake Santos, his home before going on to Faerie. It is our best chance of catching them if we go there first.”

“On the way, give us the summary of what in the fuck is going on?” Sarah asked as she laid her hand in Yusuf’s and Stan did the same. He nodded at her and in a second they were traveling across the night sky as a trail of flame. They didn’t burn, but they shone as brightly as a comet.

 

 

She held onto him through the darkness. She held onto him as a creature of the bottom of the lake with gnashing teeth and sharp hooves. She held onto him not knowing if she would ever see the light again.

She pressed her small hands against his large wound. His form shifted and allowed for her to embrace him as a man. He brought her to the shoreline of the mortal world in whose embrace death dwelled. Where by the same gentle touch that was trying to hold his body together he had escaped its yawning arms.

He had devoured the hand of the magician. That weakness would become his strength. The blade had fallen away to the bottom of the lake. Let it remain forever powerless in the lair of the creature it had been meant to slay. As he had deposited the grotesque prize he had considered simply moving on to Faerie as the woman lay inert and helpless upon his back. Only by the force of her hold on his mane did he know she was still conscious.

Was not her act her consent? She had sacrificed herself for him. She must love him if she had not allowed Rhona, nor Regan, to free her. She must desire to be with him.

He was not sure when he had won her love. She had rebuffed him at first with the assurance acts of kindness would not win her heart. He had accepted this. He had not been trying to gain her love, but he had been acting in love. It was only inevitable he would be kind to her and try to protect her. He would act as a husband should, because that was the promise they had made to one another, whether she loved him in return or not.

Yet he knew things were not so simple. Human hearts had many ties upon them when a fae may have one, or none at all. Their few decades heaved with as much affection as thousands of years. They gave it to so many; their family, their friends, and their lovers. Very few humans only loved one at once. Eddie was far more a common example of her kind, perhaps even an extraordinary one in how freely and easily she loved. It flowed from her as endlessly as an eternal spring. It was perhaps why she had come to care about him, someone who had tormented her. Humans could even love their enemies.

If she had been fae she would have simply stayed with him and followed him anywhere. She was human however, and while he may have desired to be her entire world, he never would be. She would remember her brother’s face until the day she died, even if it was thousands of years after the last mortal life had been extinguished.

The pact was ended. He had given Regan a grievous wound, and the couple were already engaged to be married. All would go as it should.

He felt it must be time, but he must know for sure. He couldn’t make that mistake. If she came to hate him all that had been wonderful within her would die.

He came ashore in the pre-dawn darkness when only the sound of the waves and the occasional scamper of a night animal carried against the mountainside. Eddie’s coughing quickly disintegrated the peace of the darkness but she still clung to him, his neck between her elbows and her hands over his gaping gash. She at last raised her head and looked around her and gave a small sputter of surprise.

“The shore?” She looked back at him and he met her gaze by looking over his shoulder. “Huh, why are you still here? I thought you said you had to go to Faerie! Get on with it! Are you nuts!?”

“You humans, you feel pain like this all the time don’t you? You must wait for your body to heal before it subsides.” He observed quietly. He had never felt anything like it. It was like pleasure almost the way it seared the body and throbbed. It could scarcely be endured with the way it bit into nerves. It was his first experience with true agony. He had been wounded before but the bridle tied him to the Earth instead of Faerie which had not been found by death or age. No previous wounds had felt so scintillating and he had never known the fear of death until Rhona had loomed over him with that blade poised to rupture his heart.

Without the bridle the tear would have closed on its own, filled by the magic of his stronghold. Under its burden however he needed to expose his injury to the eternal magic of the deathless land.

He had never understood the death-scream until now. It was the summoning of death to end life. All that had made Eddie shine was in fear of that final call. Humans loved so ardently because they never knew when they would lose it all. It was perhaps why she could love even him, though it would take her from him in the end as he was a soulless creature.

“Y-yes,” she looked away as she begrudgingly admitted this. “But you won’t heal will you if you stay here? You’ll just continue to have that wound…”

“And death will never come for me even if I may beg for it,” he finished and she at last let him go.

“For God’s sake then, leave, please! Why are you staying here? “ She raised her hands and covered her eyes. “ _Please_! I can hardly stand to even look at it—“

He gently reached to grasp her wrists and pull them down. She let him and looked at him as she softly began to sob. He leaned over and gently kissed where the warm stream of her tears overlaid the cold water of his lake.

“I have never known the fear of death, until tonight.” She looked at him and swallowed.

“Naoise…” He reached around her shoulders and drew her close to him as best he could without soaking her in more blood.

“I would not know it again, and I would take you somewhere Eddie where you never need to fear it. Come with me to Faerie, be my bride, the pact is over. You can live forever there with me and never know death’s touch ever again.” He proposed vehemently. Eddie looked at him with such despair that her entire body trembled. She looked away from him, as if unable to stand the sight of him.

“This is my fault, Regan gave me that dagger, told me to use it on you, but I couldn’t! So I threw it away, into that little pool on the range, that’s where Rhona got it!” She confessed miserably. “I should have never thrown it away so carelessly!”

Naoise inhaled sharply. All this time, she could have freed herself? Why had she chosen him and not freedom? Why had she protected someone she had feared and hated? Why should life be so sacred? This love, it had worn her down as much as him.

“Regan choose his own actions, and you did yours.” Naoise gently turned her chin so she would look at him. Her eyes were wide and her lips trembled with guilt. Her regret was eternal, genuine, and omnipotent. “Will you come with me now? Your brother is engaged to the one he loves and Regan will never be whole ever again.”

Eddie swallowed and her eyes moved away from him, even as she continued to grimace at him from some internal pang.

“The pact is not over.” Eddie narrowed her eyes. “Not until the day Matthew is married. You may believe Regan is now defeated, but I don’t.”

Naoise sighed, “in that line of thinking, the pact is never over. Matthew may be married, but so long as Regan lives, he can always separate them. Would you command me to kill Regan to protect your brother’s marriage?”

“No,” she gave a small groan.

“Then….you will never go to Faerie with me, for you will always have some excuse.” Eddie didn’t answer beyond hunching her shoulders as the weight of the conundrum settled on her. Naoise raised his lip in a sneer. “I could kill you for this.”

“Will you force me?” Eddie asked with her face still tilted towards the dead Earth.

“No.” he would not, not any more than she would ever ask him to kill someone. She looked up at him.

“Why do you care about me so much Naoise?” She moaned, the sort so many gave at death when they could not summon a scream.

“Why did I fall in love with you?” he asked and she tensed. He shook his head. “I don’t know why. All I know is I want you to be by my side forever. You make me feel…complete. It’s a feeling I have not ever felt for someone else. Perhaps it is because, most of all, I believe you could love me in return.”

Eddie gave a small and bitter smile. “I could love you, but not like this. Maybe, after all, it would have been better if we had never met.”

“Is this….good bye then?” he asked softly.

“It must be.” She answered, her voice cracking under the unbearable weight.

“I want you to know though…maybe one day…if things had been different then…” Eddie nearly choked on her words. She closed her eyes and cried out, “maybe we could have watched the sun rise together, every day!”

He knew what she meant, that they could have been together every day, that for a few hours every day they would have only belonged to each other. That she could have loved him in return. It was never to be however, she would not yield, and he could not let her live otherwise. She must be subordinated or be punished, and she had chosen punishment once again.

For he had to believe he was still a guardian, for he could be nothing else. He must never be stopped in his task. Eddie loved endlessly. She could even love him. She could also destroy him and lay waste to all he guarded. He must either temper that flame or see it extinguished.

He leaned down and kissed her again, wishing to imprint the embrace upon his mind and body forever. He would never love anyone ever again, not after this, not after all this pain. She was surely sparing him by rejecting him, for this passion was consuming and dangerous. It had humbled him and made him vulnerable, two things a guardian should never be.

She tightened her hold as if wishing to delay him for a few more minutes. A few more seconds she could spend with him as the man she loved and not the monster. She let him go at last and as he stood to leave he let his hand drop and run down the length of her arm. He raised her hand up as she remained sitting as he rose fully up.

“You truly chose to give me your life over your love?” he asked softly.

“Yes,” she said softly, she gently squeezed his hand and smiled at him even as her tears flowed.

“Then your life is the price you pay.” He informed her softly. He knew the piercing aches in his chest were not from his gash.

“And I will keep you bridled, until the end of the pact,” she told him softly. That was her own exchange; he would not yield to her in love, so he must remain enslaved till the end of her life. This was their mutual cruelty to one another. He let her hand go.

He left her before the sun rose that day, on the shore, alone in the mortal land where death dwelled.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chance for readers to catch their breath between the end of the second act and the climax. We get Regan's backstory and the aftermath of Naoise's departure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was posted a bit later but I'll be having physical therapy every Friday morning in October so for the rest of the month chapters will be a little late like this.

He could still see the expression on her face when she had left. It was burned like the negative of a photograph on the back of his eyelids. Nothing chased away the memory of her last smile. Not drugs, not anguish, regret, or anger. Nothing would change the singular fact Rhona was gone, as wrenched from him as his right hand.

Regan watched the sunrise spill across the sky through his sweat soaked bangs. He hovered between reality and dream as he felt like he was a child again and expected to see his mother at his bed side. He tried to put his hands together and feeling the stunted flesh he gave a low cry of rage and despair. The wound of the flesh was nothing compared to the one across his heart. He had only been in such anguish once before, when his mother’s curse had come full circle. She had held him close and given her last request. She had given the boy two things; a key and a necklace. One was for opening a door, the other for locking a door.

The key had been to the summer home that had belonged to his mother alone. It was a place his stepfather had never been allowed. He had wondered often how much the man had ever known about his mother’s true nature.

Who was that woman she kept hidden away? Had he known they were lovers? Had he accepted the affair that didn’t endanger his right to be sire of his wife’s children because it allowed him to engage in his own discreet couplings with every sort of whore? One of whom had been the young Katharine Greene? Had he suspected his wife’s first child was not his, even if he had married her in haste, as if afraid the prize would slip away? He had adored his stepdaughter yet had always been wary of the ones he claimed for his own. It was as if he had always sensed their mother had passed on that mysterious trait that he was attracted to yet feared to truly discover.

Kelly had been Michael Seele’s but unfortunate enough to inherit her mother’s disquieting aura. Regan had always held her close to him when they were younger until she had grown into the forgiving and gentle personality their mother had long since been forced to forsake. It had been his mother’s final wish.

And it would take one ignorant mechanic and his ass-headed sister to ruin it all.

Mother had loved Rhona like the grass loves the rain. She had been only alive when she spent those weeks in warm summer with the other woman. They had watched her children play along the sea shore together during those long days.

Regan had not seen Rhona in five years that day he had taken the train down to Palisade Beach when he was only fifteen and in mourning. In his hand was a letter from his stepfather informing Rhona she would be cared for with an allowance from his wife’s own income. The other was a letter he did not read that had been written by his mother to Rhona. The latter had been written years before, as soon as the woman had become aware her life would be halved.

It had been March before spring had arrived. Rhona had been standing in the shallows of the shore before the small cottage. Her blonde hair had trailed in the wind along with her simple white dress. She had been as radiant as the shinning ocean and as graceful as the sea foam she had been born from. She had not looked at him as he had walked up to her, her eyes only on the sea she could still not return to, standing in the waves was surely torture to her, yet one she had endured into, within, and out, every day. Yet nothing compared to the loss of the woman she had given herself to in sacrifice.

“She is dead.” Was all she softly said as he came to stand next to her. He handed her the letters. She read one, and then the other. With a scream she had fallen to her knees and thrown both of the letters into the surf. She had wept for hours until the sun had died behind the ocean, as had her chance to return to its vast depths and her sisters. She lamented the love she had given to Lorna MacGregor in the most visceral way.

Regan had visited her every few weeks after that. She became his only true companion when Kelly forgot who she had been. In time Kelly completely forgot the love her mother had had for Rhona. That Rhona had once watched her gather shells as a toddler. That Rhona had used to sit on a swing beneath a yarrow tree with their mother in the backyard of the cottage with their hands entwined for long hours. Everyone forgot about her in time, even the man who had once rivaled her for the affections but not the love of Lorna MacGregor. Regan remembered her however and grew to manhood with all his memories of love.

He seduced her one winter morning after his time in Germany. He had waited until he was a man with a few things to offer, some skill in bed and the beginning of a personal fortune culled from his gifts and intelligence. The future had seemed bright and unyielding as he held this relic from his past in his arms; he would make her his own. He had not asked if the pelt had compelled her to open her body to him, even though she always spoke of the ocean in bed.

“I am lonely, and you are as well, so let’s be together,” he had breathed into her ear and she had made no answer. He had strung jewels about her neck and given her fine clothes to shine in. Nothing however could hide her lack of a smile, and only given when she was running away from him. Had he not treated her well, as his princess? As his treasure? Had he not given her everything she could have wished for? He had only disbarred the sea; he had only tabooed the ocean. He had only loved her.

Yet Naoise of Lake Santos had been given so much devotion that he had a woman ready to die for him. So in love was Eddie Moreno with death she would defend him at all cost. Regan had truly not seen such a thing coming. He had thought the girl naïve, a little bit stupid even, but not so foolish as to really throw her life away. Apparently he had underestimated this young woman glutted on fairy tales and festering in some sort of hidden insanity. It was inexplicable, morbid, and would not be allowed to continue. It was an affront to rationale and the very dignity of humanity.

Yet if Naoise dragged her away tonight, he would allow the crime, at least let Regan save his own flesh and blood.

Edith Moreno could at last suffer the consequences for her actions.

A few hours after dawn his sister gently woke him by touching her cool fingers to his forehead. The woman stood over him with a haunted look as if aware of what phantoms from her past had just crashed through her life just beyond her line of sight. Yet she stood over him with a small smile as if she had forgotten how she had torn her dress to tie a tourniquet below his gushing wound a few hours before.

“G’morning. How do you feel? Should I have the nurse maybe give you another painkiller?” she asked lowly.

“You’re not on duty Kel.” Regan muttered softly. He was still heavy-headed from the massive dosage of sedatives and analgesics that had branded his fever dreams on the insides of his eyes. He raised his hand, found it gone, and was forced to raise the other to find her wrist, to reassure himself she was real and not the product of his pernicious memories.

“I am,” Kelly sighed and pushed her mussed hair from her face, tangled by hours of fretting. “I won’t leave until they let you out.”

“Don’t be silly, I’m not dying.” Regan chided, as best he could when his tongue felt like an over large and loose fish in the chasm of his mouth anyway. He glanced at her, “you’ve changed.”

“Yeah.” She looked down at her gray sweat suit that had replaced her torn and blood soaked dress of last night. Its canary yellow silk was forever ruined with a putrid stain. “Matt got me a change of clothes from the house.”

“And where is he?”

“He’s nappin’ in the waiting room.”

“And his sister?”

Kelly’s look of slight confusion alerted his sluggish mind he should perhaps speak more carefully. She answered however, “She left before….before what happened. All the better, huh? Just got so dammed lucky she didn’t have to see…”

Kelly stopped and choked. She covered her mouth with a trembling hand. Regan gently squeezed her other hand. “I’m sorry. I just don’t understand how something so terrible could have happened! So quickly and suddenly!”

He hushed her but her tears still flowed. _This is what mother wished to shield you from._ He felt anger rise up in his chest but he kept his expression gentle, comforting, like he had taught himself to; to bury all of his emotions.

“Bad luck I suppose,” he tried to joke, stroking her knuckles. She shook her head but when she dropped her hand she smiled back at him.

“I suppose I should thank the lord you were not killed. To think such thugs would be in our neighborhood! I refuse to believe they were from Los Olivos or Orangeblossom!” Regan just closed his eyes and nodded at his sister’s vehement denial. It would seem Brody had done one thing right; cast the net of illusion.

“Am I upsetting you?” she asked quietly.

“No,” he rolled his head toward her. “Never.”

She gave a small, gasping laugh. She shook her head and rubbed her forehead. “I’m being so silly but I just spent the night thinkin’ of when Mom died and—“

“I won’t leave you,” Regan tried to sit up and groaned at his sudden nausea. He rolled over to his side and tried to spare Kelly the sight of him vomiting. _I am going to kill you Naoise of Lake Santos!_

“No, no,” Kelly soothed as she stroked her brother’s hair back. She held the bed pan with all the professionalism she had culled from so many years of study and practice. Her comforting bedside manner however was only her unspoiled light that had forgotten the darkness.

“I will always have my brother, and Matthew,” she looked back towards the waiting room and sighed. Regan’s eyes narrowed. Matthew was a good man, who loved his sister, but this sort of world was not his. His sister’s behavior when exposed to it had more than proved Kelly was in more danger in the arms of a blind man than any other. No, she could have the prince her brother had crafted for her down to every last detail. Matthew Moreno would be far better off having no inkling what shook the branches of the MacGregor Family tree.

The Moreno siblings needed to be entirely removed from their lives.

“Yes,” Regan gently agreed, looking above Kelly’s breast where he knew her necklace was, the last gift from their mother.

“Rhona…is gone, isn’t she?” Kelly suddenly lowly asked and Regan felt his heart stop. She looked at him with concern. “She’s not at the house, not here. Did she leave last night too?”

“Yes.” Regan grimaced as he looked away. His sister gently embraced him and kissed his cheek. She couldm’t know why she understood the dejection in her brother’s face, but she sensed it and tried to banish it. It was the lingering touches of their mother’s curse. It was why she needed the touch of a prince; nothing could _totally_ remove that taint.

“Stay strong love,” she asked softly as she saw the duty nurse in the doorway and understood she must leave for the woman to do her work.

I am strong. Regan looked down at his hand and the ruined stump of his other arm. Even crippled, he was strong. Even abandoned, he was strong. Even alone, he was strong.

He was strong for her alone.

 

 

Naoise was gone but she could still feel the tie of the bridle and the invisible chain he would one day return on.

 _Could I have possibly said something even more stupid than “we could have watched every sunrise together.”?!_ Eddie berated herself. What a way to send off a man you had just rejected! Make him think you were too cowardly and ignorant to say your feelings. Why had she even expressed her regret, when she knew it could never be?

She had just wanted him to know! She had just wanted him to know.

 _All I wanted was you._ She had only realized it when he had left, when she had known this was going to be the last time she could kiss him and hold him so gently. When she had feared he was going to be slaughtered in front of her. When she had been afraid that they never get to talk ever again, that she never get to tease him ever again, or tell him her insipid stories about what she had seen on television.

She would never see his smile again, she felt certain, after last night.

The Earth was a place of small wonders that were only made miraculous because they were in defiance of death’s hold. She had given the kelpie a taste of death and he had found it bitter and choking. He would either have her banish the memory of something she had been fed on since birth or he would serve her the final meal. He had desired to possess her, perhaps his only conceivable reaction to something he cared for. He didn’t understand her at all, how humans eventually all acquired a taste for death, for their nature was that of a mortal being. Niamh had tragically sent Oisín back to Earth, insensible to the same concept. Eddie had refused Naoise to spare him a similar disaster.

She had desired him however, and did still. Love was not enough to make her forget all that she was, but it still burned softly, and painfully, in her heart. She had done the right thing, by letting him go. She would have only been unhappy in Faerie and would have only made Naoise miserable.

She also knew however that by his nature the kelpie couldn’t spare her. Naoise was a rational creature of singular purpose, either he subdued the threat by making her his own, or he eliminated her, those were the only two options. She had refused to let him save her, and that was the irrational sort of freedom only humanity knew.

Eddie raised her head at a sudden cry from the kitchen and then the sound of Sarah berating Stan. The pair with Yusuf had found her in an apoplexy last night. They had seen the entire horrific episode of Regan’s mutilation and somehow had managed to keep their sanity.

Eddie had cried in Sarah’s arms before Yusuf had brought them to her home. It was just as they had arrived her brother had called Sarah in a frightened hysteria. It was then Eddie realized her phone had been totally drowned in Naoise’s mad underwater dash.

And that she didn’t have a good excuse as to why it no longer worked.

Still the ever vivacious Sarah had explained away the older brother’s fear by saying Eddie had had a fight with “that dickhead”. After speaking to Eddie and detecting the distress in her voice he fully believed Sarah. He explained there had been an “emergency” at the party and may not be home until tomorrow. Eddie explained Sarah would be staying over and left out so would Stan and Yusuf.

Now Eddie sat up in her bed, her hair still damp from last night’s shower. Her blood stained dress, which would need to be burned or perhaps used in a magic spell, was on the floor. She knew she still had to attend to her chores despite her pain. Pain from her heart and the series of bruises she had smashed into her hands last night as she had crashed them against the wall in her panic.

She had laid in bed for the past hour watching the pink light of the sun rise crawl up her bedroom walls and turn a lighter shade as it hit the ceiling. She reluctantly ended her pity party however and threw on a pair of jeans below her night shirt. She put on a jacket as she tried to slip out the back door without her friends hearing.

“Hey Eddie, hurry yourself back, we’re having blueberry pancakes!” Sarah called as she somehow heard the other young woman moving around. Eddie paused and after giving a nod no one could see she slipped out the door. She spent the next forty-five minutes dawdling and wondering if she should lie and how much she should. She realized she should not even attempt such a thing. Her friends had come to save her from something they had been warned was dangerous and malicious last night. How could she repay them with deception after such a thing?

 _I never wanted to draw you into this_. She frowned as she paused before the back door. Could she really hope to try to keep her friend out of this when fate had brought her into it? Stan had already been touched by that unseen world even if he had been unaware at the time. He had caught the fancy of a kelpie, perhaps it was only destiny he would eventually learn the truth of the young man who had danced with him at the barn dance.

She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. No lying, she would confess everything, even if it made her look petty, selfish, and bullheaded. She took off her jacket and walked into the kitchen. Sarah was pouring cups of coffee as Stan flipped a pancake onto a stack. Yusuf seemed to be comfortable sitting in a chair while stroking Blackie.

The pair were dressed in borrowed clothes, Sarah in one of Eddie’s night shirts that was far too tight in the chest, Stan in one of Matthew’s old shirts that hung off his frame with his dress slacks. It would have been almost be comical if Eddie felt far too hollow to laugh at anything. Sarah looked up at her and beamed.

“Here she is. Sit.” She moved a cup of coffee toward Eddie as she took her place at the table. She folded her hands, unsure how to start. She looked down at the roiling coffee in the cup and covered one side of her face, recalling the waves of the lake left in Naoise’s wake.

“You bridled a faerie.” Eddie looked up in surprise at Stan’s quiet voice. He laid a plate of pancakes before her. “How, why?”

She didn’t touch her food until she had explained it all from the beginning. By the time she had finished she found her meal was cold and herself with no appetite still. Her anxiety was not helped by the silence that followed her morbid tale of romance that had ended with a death threat. Sarah at last broke the silence by slamming her palms onto the table. The thump made the cutlery and dishes rattle with anger. Eddie didn’t look up however as she heard Sarah’s chair scrape back, behaving like a child who knew it was going to get a scolding.

And really she could admit that she deserved one.

“Oh, you—“ Sarah groped for words as she stomped around in a fit.

“He wanted to know if you loved him back.” Eddie looked up in horror at Stan’s soft remark. Sarah also looked at him in surprise. He continued on steadily, “That’s why he didn’t abduct you when he could. He didn’t want you to force him to bring you back, to be rejected.”

“And he was rejected all the same.” Eddie sighed softly as she picked up her fork.

“And so he’s going to fucking kill her for it, what a bastard!” Sarah snapped as she put her hands on her hips.

“Humans can break their promises but fae can’t,” she frowned as she recalled Naoise’s explanation that his actions defined his self. “You know the whole time Naoise and I were together he bitched about all the rules and social conventions humans have when fae have just as much.”

She shook her head, “and they’re just as confusing to us as ours are to them.”

“Makes for quite a bit of culture shock,” Stan mused and ignored Sarah’s glower.

“Well I don’t care what you call it, it’s wrong, and there has to be another way!” she cried.

“I choose this. The only other options were killing him or enslaving him for all eternity.” Eddie covered her face in remorse.

“Then let him be enslaved, the asshole!” Sarah argued.

Eddie shook her head, recalling Rhona. Could she really live with herself as she inflicted such suffering onto another being? People like _Regan_ did such things. Not her, not this self.

“As Naoise cannot forgive Eddie for reneging their pact,” the jinn carefully interjected, “Eddie can no more murder and enslave and still be herself.”

“It was just an impossible situation.” She lamented and jumped when Sarah slammed her fist down on the table.

“But that doesn’t mean you should give up!” She yelled and Eddie felt tears form in her eyes at her cowardice.

“I’m sorry, I never wanted you to get involved—“

“Don’t fucking apologize to me! I don’t want it if it’s not sincere!” Sarah waved her arms in disgust. “When I think of the pain Matthew will feel if you die and what I will…”

And Sarah began to cry herself, turning away from her friend. She wrapped her arms around herself and radiated agonized anger. Eddie raised a hand then dropped it, knowing no apology would be sincere so long as she would do something that hurt her loved ones this much.

“You’re right; I’m a horrible person to do this when I have people who love me.” Eddie looked away and grimaced at the pain in her chest. “But I always have been, I think. So I thought…’I’ll take the risk of this not working out, because even if I screw this up, at least I will have brought Matthew some happiness’.”

She began to sob, not caring if it made her look weak or even pettier. She could do nothing else. Why should Sarah or Matthew love her this much when she had made such a mess?

“So I took the risk! Because I felt like I hate myself even more if I became a murderer! I just wanted to be fair. I know I’ve been selfish, and I’m willing to accept the consequence of that! Even if it’s that you would turn away from me, as you should, when otherwise I would hurt you so much!”

She collapsed into her sorrow, trying to hold back her cries as she rested her forehead against the table. She began to hiccup in her distress and felt a headache form in her brow yet she tried to smother her weeping. She waited for them to leave, to tell her that she was the sort of person she had always feared she really was; weak and selfish. She trembled in how exposed she felt like she had been placed naked in a cold and raking wind.

After a few seconds warm arms encircled her and she stiffened. She blinked in surprise as Sarah’s hair brushed over her face like a veil.

“Oh Eddie. You are a very stupid girl indeed. You think you’re so horrible that we be better off without you. Yet you’re the sort of person who doesn’t take the easy way out of anything. You try to take responsibility for _everything_ however when it’s not your fault at all. So much you would even spare a blood thirsty monster his deserved punishment.” The woman sighed and gently cupped her friend’s cheek to tilt her face up. Sarah smiled gently at her. “And even now, you would not give in to him, knowing what suffering it bring to us and _him_.”

She leaned down and kissed Eddie’s forehead as the other girl sniffled in mollification. “It’s been terrible for you and you’ve tried so hard to be strong. If Naoise kills you, he deserves a true punishment. That he would be such an ass as to kill someone who fought so hard to even save someone like him.”

“Sarah?” Eddie asked in wonder at her friend’s loving look. The young woman just beamed.

“Oh…didn’t I tell you once I wished I could have Matt and you to myself forever? I love you girl, and I won’t abandon you, whether or not you’ve thrown yourself to a man-eating horse.”

“I don’t…I don’t want you to feel any guilt, no matter what happens,” Eddie said vehemently reaching up to squeeze Sarah’s hand gently. She couldn’t lay this burden on her but it seemed like Sarah had already set her mind to accept it.

“A sorrow shared is a sorrow halved.” Sarah waved her hand and glanced at Stan. “Right?”

“I didn’t think there was room for me between you and Eddie,” Stan deadpanned at Sarah. He was suffered to have a pancake tossed at his head. Eddie kept silently crying letting her tears salt her pancakes. Eventually however her tears ran dry and even with a pounding headache, she found reason to smile.

She wasn’t alone anymore.

Sarah and Yusuf endeavored to stay until Matthew came home but Stan was ready to leave after breakfast. He pulled Eddie aside as Sarah took a shower. They sat on the front doorstep of the home and spoke of things that should not be.

“Dougal, Naoise’s brother, he’s a kelpie too, isn’t he?” Stan asked lowly as he rubbed behind Blackie’s ears. The cat sighed in deep pleasure, the favorite of the spirits.

“Yeah.” Eddie confessed just as lowly as if they were sharing a secret. Stan inclined his head.

“He didn’t try to take me to Faerie, why?” Eddie glanced at Stan wondering if it had really gone that far. Perhaps she should have been paying more attention even if she had spent most of that night in Naoise’s arms. Stan’s face was carefully impassive which was a warning even with someone so mild mannered.

“Because…when a fae gets their heart broken, they remember for a very long time.” Eddie sighed and closed her eyes.

Stan seemed to accept this answer and stood up. He turned to Eddie one last time however.

“I do wish you luck, you know. It seems like you could have done worse.”

“Thanks,” Eddie smiled at him and watched him walk around the house and disappear. The cat moved to her lap now and she continued to indulge her. She raised her face up towards the sky and squinted her eyes at the bright sun.

And she wondered if such warm light was shinning where he was.

 

 

When Regan became more lucid, he was ready to discuss trickery.

He had dismissed Kelly to allow her to get some breakfast with Matthew and in her absence he summoned the prince to him. The man arrived a few minutes later looking a bit cautious as if he feared Regan was a snake that would strike at him. Regan’s expression remained cool however despite the searing agony in his wrist as he slowly fell from the embrace of his analgesics. His servant gave his report in a measured tone as if he was discussing an unpleasant dinner he had been to but must still speak well of the guests that had attended it.

“So it is believed that a gang of some sort were attempting to steal some valuables and were responsible for your hand.” Darzi glanced at the vacant void at the end of his arm and Regan ignored him in relief he didn’t need to enchant a questioning police officer if his servants had proved competent.

“It is also believed,” he continued carefully with his eyes warily on Regan’s. “That Rhona assisted in the crime and fled with the ring leader.”

Regan gave no response other than a grunt. It was an acceptable lie; she had after all betrayed him. The woman had never created any ties in the community and could be believed to commit any sort of crime. He hadn’t wanted to tarnish that last extension of his mother but all the selkie had left him with was suffering. Darzi exhaled and seemed eager to finish up.

“So, Brody been down to the station already to enchant the reports he took so every officer thinks the other took them down—“

“And who was he?” Regan asked with a sharp glance.  
“Ian Stauffenberg, the new detective from North Vale, head of the case.” Darzi smirked a little. “And the real Ian Stauffenberg has a perfect memory of the story of every witness he interviewed; he will feel no need to go back over the reports.”

“And pity whatever fools get convicted of it,” Regan sighed. Perhaps he would find some substitutes himself but for now the weaving of spells would hold. Darzi looked away; if he was hiding a frown or a smirk it could not be seen.

“You’ve done well, Darzi, but do you think this makes up for how you interfered last night?” Regan asked softly, he raised his mutilated arm to conjure a ward over the room. Even crippled he was not voided of any power. His magic did not depend on the strength of his body, only his mind. And he had refused to let the kelpie shatter his psyche with terror. Darzi tensed but somewhat impressively held his ground.

“Regan you know you were acting far too rashly—“

“I was only trying to complete a necessary task! If Eddie Moreno is killed by Naoise of Lake Santos that will be your fault Jai Darzi!” he snapped and his servant cowered in the manner the magician was accustomed to. He looked away in disgust. The ring had been meant to be the kelpie’s downfall. He knew Eddie would not allow it to remain in his possession with her inverted sense of justice. It had only been a matter of time when the fae in his love could be lured into a position compromising enough to kill him.

Now however unless he did something just as drastic, that girl would die. She had refused to leave with Naoise last night, if she would not be a bride she would be a murder victim. That girl would get her death wish and he would suffer the blow to his pride. Regan had always approached his position with a stringent sense of duty, having a fae slay a human woman would not be allowed on his watch. He would not allow a spirit to overcome him! Especially not the one that his mother had only defeated at the expense of her very self.

“If you don’t wish to be associated with me anymore, leave.” Regan looked back at the man with a sneer. “Keep in mind however who gave you those looks, this life, those parents that adore you, and the possibility of having a beautiful, talented, and loving wife. Without me you’ll be doing nothing but crawling on your stomach in the mud again!”

“Kelly doesn’t love me!” Darzi suddenly burst forth. “She already has someone who loves her. Why should you try to wreck that?”

“Because he is someone who has no inkling of who Kelly really is. How can he love her without knowing that? I would not see her heart broken.” Regan glowered. “Are you not unhappy Eddie Moreno prefers a damned man-eating monster over you, a perfect prince? Was that not your first taste of rejection, when she would not look back at you from a beast?”

Regan lay back with an air of frustrated resentment. “Imagine how much worse that feeling be for Kelly, if her husband left her because she produced a Sighted child, or because some sort of spirit entered their lives?”

Darzi drew back, obviously longing for a way to strike back but Regan knew he had none. He had nothing without him! Damn him if he ever forgot that!

“Do you really think this is best for her? To cage her in a perfect little world you’ve crafted?” Darzi asked bitterly.

“If you don’t like this world, you’re free to leave it, but you will lose everything I have given you if you do.” Regan’s glare turned into a smirk as he chuckled darkly. “Perhaps I shall find a toad that will make a better prince than you!”

Darzi snarled and turned away. Even as he stormed out however, Regan knew he wouldn’t leave. He couldn’t, for he had everything he wished for. Everyone could have everything they wanted if they never looked beyond the bars. The man fell back into a fitful sleep where he dreamed again and again of Rhona’s last smile, always trying to reach for her, but always finding he only had one hand and could no longer hold onto her.

His sister returned and informed him he was being discharged. The love of her life was at her elbow. A man Regan could not enchant into believing he didn’t love his sister. He had tried and had found as much resistance within this simple man as he had in his even simpler sister when Regan had tried to convince her that Matthew could not love whoever he wished. In another world he would have truly been Kelly’s prince, if she had been nothing more than a normal human woman. Fate however was never so kind.

The pair were far too stubborn to be caged and would only know suffering in their freedom. He had wanted to give them a happy ending, but now he was forced to engineer a tragedy. Regan smiled gently at Matthew as he spoke enthusiastically to encourage the other man through his hard time.

“My grandmother had a sayin’ like, you can’t put socks on a rooster, but you can put a hat on his head. Not fully sure what it meant but I think it probably was something like, ‘do what you can’, and we can always try our best.”

Regan just nodded at this obscure bit of wisdom and tried to ignore his sister’s loving look at the mechanic. Katharine bustled in with the nurse, and after making a scene over how hard she had labored with the police and guests after Kelly and Regan had, so selfishly, left, she informed him she would be overseeing his recovery. Regan just smiled and informed her he would sooner be dead.

True love was beyond the bars, but a facsimile of it came with no suffering at all.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH (non-graphic)
> 
> Naoise returns to the Earth, by Regan's hand.

Eddie felt like she had many doors within herself she never wanted to open ever again.

Over the years she had locked away many things about herself within her deepest recesses. Within her bones, swimming along her veins, and honeycombed through her heart were lost tombs of memories that would never die but must remain imprisoned forever. There were things that refused to be locked however.

How she wished she could forget about Naoise for he seemed to have forgotten her over these past three weeks. Why had he not returned? Was the warping between the worlds so great? Was he waiting or her to call? Or had he chosen to not return, and would wait out the rest of her life in Faerie? Summer was coming ever closer and the world was burning away as her fate stagnated. The door could not be shut but slammed open again and again in her heart.

Was he being cruel or merciful leaving her like this? Was it kindness or hatred that inspired her to not call him back? Was this his way of letting her go? Leaving her alone?

He would have her death. Did he mean her natural death, bidden by time alone? Had Naoise at last become a coward? Like her?

Regan had returned but as far as Eddie knew he had made no move to carry out his own plans. He must be aware Naoise was no longer in the mortal world. With the kelpie gone had he decided to give in to a passive truce? Had Matthew's loyalty in all this difficulty finally convinced him he could not be driven away even with possible danger to himself?

It was like the whole world was holding its breath, waiting for this pregnant pause to give birth.

Eddie held her breath and wondered if somehow everything was going to return to normal and things would be as they always had been. Matthew and Kelly would get married in January and she would grow to be an old woman. The only scar Naoise would leave behind was Regan's mutilated right arm.

The lake would remain empty for the rest of her lifetime and the seal would remain broken. Perhaps she would find a human man to marry and allow her children to swim in the lake with no fear. She would sit on the rocks she had with Naoise and remember for perhaps a few minutes at a time how she had kissed the lord of the lake and he had offered her his love and eternal youth. As if anyone in their right mind would wish to be twenty years old forever! And when she died she would know somewhere in Faerie the bridle would fall away from its slave and Naoise could return at last to this mortal land she had chosen over him.

She hated the romance of her vision, the passivity of it, the story with no true ending, yet it was perhaps the only way things could be and should have been all along. It was the life Naoise would give her and it would be his gift. It was a gift however she felt she didn't deserve and had not earned.

 _I wanted to talk to you one more time._  
She lay on her bed and frowned at the ceiling. She had tried to not let Naoise's abandonment, or perhaps it was her abandonment of him, affect her outwardly but she knew Matthew worried about her even as busy as he now was. He had left a piece of cheesecake on the table this morning with a note he would be going to Los Olivos that evening and if Eddie wished she could join him, Kelly, and Regan for a little dinner to welcome the eldest Seele home. Eddie knew this would be the first time since the engagement party Regan would see Matthew. Eddie would have thought Regan would not attack with his sister so near but using her engagement party as a set-up to kill Naoise had certainly changed that perception. She knew Kelly after all must be as susceptible as anyone to Regan's tricks.

It sickened Eddie a little bit to watch her fuss and worry over someone who not only had deceived her but had garnered sympathy by smearing an innocent party in the entire affair. Knowing Rhona could likely care less what the human community thought of her did blunt some of Eddie's disgust, that and the tepid hope perhaps Regan had learned something by losing her. Eddie felt the loss, far more than his amputation, had hurt him.

Yet she was reluctant to leave her brother alone with Regan. As anxious as she was about entering that home alone with no ring or Naoise, she would not abandon Matthew. She alone of the party knew what Regan could do. _Alone_.

She just had to keep her guard up. She exhaled and sat up. She walked over to her closet and took out her knit gray dress. It was fine for these little dinner and lunch parties the elite seemed to be so fond of. She would do her best for Matthew; whether it was pleasing the in-laws or fighting against them.

The doors swung open.

 

 

Kelly at least was ecstatic to see her. Matthew had been pleased when she had told him she would join the party but Kelly nearly bounded out of her skin when she saw Eddie walk in after Matthew. She embraced her and whispered a compliment on the floral hair piece. After kissing her cheek Kelly informed Eddie she was so happy the "whole family" could be together. Eddie smiled and had a feeling Kelly was on egg shells because the "whole family" included Katharine and the likely more snide than usual Regan. Eddie felt Kelly must be desperate if she hoped _Eddie_ would lighten up the room.

Yet she walked in on laughter as Kelly led them to the parlor. Katharine at last no longer looked at her like she was an intruder. In a fit of bravery Eddie had at last written the apology letter. The taciturn acceptance was her reply. Katharine allowed the young woman into the circle with a civil grace which made Regan's grin slightly less intimidating.

She tensed however when she saw Jai Darzi at Regan's elbow. Their eyes met and he looked away first. She had not seen him since the party either. She had been afraid he had abandoned her as well. She couldn’t help but to have an ill feeling as she knew Regan would only have him here for a reason.

Eddie took the last open seat next to Gwen. The girl gave her a small smile. Sarah had been cultivating a friendship with her the past few weeks. She had even joined Sarah, Eddie, and Kelly for a movie night. She had mostly provided snide commentary but had seemed to enjoy herself none the less. Perhaps not as much outwardly as her older sister but she had given her hand to Sarah and rested on her shoulder. Gwen had even seemed to forgive Kelly for making the faux pas of asking Eddie to be her maid of honor that night.

Katharine and Regan led the conversation as usual. With his lower arms down in his lap it was almost unnoticeable that Regan no longer had a right hand. He had always been circumspect in his body language but Eddie wondered if he had not already coached himself to not draw attention to his injury. The pride of the Seeles really was amazing. Regan and Katharine conversed as if the most pressing matter of the moment was the value of gold and not the roving band of malicious thugs the town had been tricked into believing were responsible for Regan's injury. They way reality and truth were disconnected in their conversation was disconcerting to say the least.

Jai was stealing looks at her which made her even more anxious. Would Regan allow for them to speak alone together? Was Jai looking for his chance? Regan was ignoring them both but Eddie knew that was arrogance and never carelessness.

It was after dinner that at last the cataclysm of the evening unfurled. Regan asked Eddie to join him or a small private talk in the garden. She nearly choked on her cake at the request and Gwen patted her back. Eddie swallowed and knew she could not delay the inevitable. She squared her shoulders and raised her chin.

"All right." She accepted like a proud prisoner does a death sentence.

Regan nodded and she looked away from him. She smiled weakly at Matthew's questioning glance as she stood up. She patted his shoulder as she passed and Kelly laughed softly. Eddie sighed and ignored Jai's look of concern as she followed Regan. They walked in silence down the steps. Eddie paused briefly to savor the sight of the mountainside flowing down and pooling into the sea of disembodied lights of the Santos Basin. Regan looked up with his face hidden by shadows but Eddie knew it didn't matter; whatever expression he was wearing it gave no inkling of his true feelings.

"Only a little further," His voice was pleasant though his mere presence looming in the dark was enough to make Eddie's neck prickle in apprehension. She followed however and at last stood before him with a stiff back and able to see his fake look of obsequiousness.

"Well, Eddie, it's been a while hasn't it?" He asked with a small laugh and Eddie didn't answer. Regan snorted a little and rocked on his heels. "And I can see you are the same."

Eddie huffed and felt a reply forming on her tongue but quickly bit it back. No, picking a fight would accomplish nothing. She cleared her throat and began delicately, "Why did you want to talk to me?"

"I wanted to know how you were! After all you are the only person I have ever heard of surviving being dragged away by a kelpie." Regan barked out a laugh.

"Naoise…didn't wish to do me harm." Eddie answered softly, drawing her arms across her chest.

"Oh but he did, and still does, doesn't he?" The man pressed.

"Not then, after I had saved his life," Eddie looked at the magician levelly. "He owed me a favor."

"No more romance then? He didn't try to steal you away to Faerie?" Eddie felt her heart plummet towards her knees.

"There never was any romance."

Regan gave her a long look.

"No, indeed." He put his hand in one pocket and his mutilated arm behind his back as he walked towards her. She didn't step away and tried to ignore her increasing heartbeat. "That you're here at all is proof of that. No fae lets their prize get away."

Eddie looked at the ground and hoped Regan would only think she was embarrassed instead of anxious and nervous.

"Is that what you wanted to know?" She watched Regan’s feet step away as he apparently considered this.

"Will he return I wonder?"

Eddie didn't look up or answer. She let the seconds pass until it became a cool insult to not look at him, and one the enchanter could not bear. Regan grasped her chin to force her to look up and Eddie met his eyes with a frigid look.  
"Do you want him to?" Eddie didn't answer beyond a glower. Regan frowned in return. "Don't be stupid Eddie."

"I won’t be lectured by someone who passed his slave off as a lover!" Eddie jerked her chin away and drew in her breath as she realized what she had just said. Regan parried however before she could annul her words or add to her charge.

"And you didn't do the same?" He hissed. She looked up and held strong against the fury in his eyes. "Don't make the mistake of finding fondness in what is actually disdain! He may be acting the coward now but he'll return to kill you!"

He shoved his mutilated limb in her face and she recoiled. Eddie gasped but she would not be bested by him again! How tired she was of being threatened and being condescended to by this man! As if he was any sort of better person than she!

"Don't talk about cowardice either. You could have confronted Naoise long before I ever got involved in it! But you didn't, you waited until he was weakened before doing so! Your mother confronted that sidhe when he was at his full power. Perhaps that is why Rhona loved her and not you; she certainly did not send Rhona to do her dirty work!" Eddie shrieked into his face. The back-handed slap came silently but its echo cracked across the still night air. A ring and knuckle slammed into the side of her nose. The pain came only after the echo had died away and Eddie staggered into a pair of arms. She looked up into Jai Darzi's livid face as her mouth hung open in shock.

"Stop, Regan." He warned. As Eddie steadied herself she realized from his look before he had known what Regan had been planning. Had he stayed near them in concern? Eddie pushed away from him and looked at him through the reverberation of Regan's slap. She licked away the blood pooling on her lips. Regan stepped back with a glower but seemed to be uninterested in following up his attack.

"I just lost my temper for a second." Regan said quietly but his expression carried no trace of regret or apology.

"Are you done?" Jai pressed and reached for Eddie's arm. She stepped away from him.

"What I said was mean, perhaps uncalled for," Eddie said slowly as she looked up at the enchanter. "But it was true and there's nothing more to be said. Naoise is gone and I won't call him back."

The corners of Regan's mouth turned down but Eddie wouldn't let him interrogate or cajole her any longer. She walked away and held her hand to her nose as she noticed drops of blood exploding across the front of her dress. She paused before the doors afraid to return to the party with her nose bloodied. She groaned lowly as her knees shook. _Always these lies!_

She looked at herself in the dim reflection of the glass and even with her lips dyed a dark and garish red, she had triumphed. Not so long ago she had stained her knuckles with the blood of her father during their final terrible argument. Even angry, insulted, and vulnerable, she had not lashed out like Regan had. She had kept her promise to never raise a hand in anger ever again after that night.

The victory however was tarnished by deception, as bitter a pill to swallow as the blood leaking down the back of her throat. A hand lay on her shoulder and by its light touch and the gentle curl of the thumb it was Jai's. She stiffened but let him whisper lowly in her ear.

"Come on, I'll clean you up." Knowing his master also had no interest in letting her be seen like this she let him lead her to a side door she hadn’t known existed before. After walking through a kitchen they narrowly avoided the lady of the house and her pouting daughter walking past. Matthew must have been with Kelly then, and hopefully distracted. Once they walked up the stairs to a bathroom Eddie stopped Jai.

"Thank you, but I'm fine now." She told him quietly. Jai smiled weakly and shook his head.

"No, you're not," Eddie frowned and he pulled her gently. She stepped inside to avoid the foot traffic. She watched him as he wetted a towel in the sink.

"Kelly said you had gone home to the Hills. You came back?"

"Regan called me back," Jai answered lowly. Eddie stepped back when he tried to put the towel to her face.

"Why?"

"Because I am his servant." He made an earnest expression at Eddie's angry frown. The expression was in no way directed at the prince however. "I'm sorry he hit you I wish I had come out sooner—"

“Jai. I am so tired. Of all of this.” Eddie swallowed at the words that made her heart rend. She felt like she was bleeding out her emotion within in a great surging tide. “I…didn’t question your relationship with Regan before, perhaps because I was afraid I would find you weren’t the person I wanted you to be.”

Jai slowly lowered the towel. His mouth was taut from a clenched jaw. It was an expression of agony. Eddie soaked in it as she continued.

“But now…after all that has happened, I’m just….less afraid. I want to see you Jai. Just you.” He raised the towel up to cover her nose, obscuring his expression. Eddie could not be stopped however.

"I could save you, I think. I helped Rhona escape," Eddie offered as she looked back at a painting of eternally blooming flowers. She had that power now. She knew it.

"I'm afraid my situation is not as simple as Rhona's who merely had a pelt hidden from her." Jai sighed. Eddie frowned and he gently tilted her face forward.

"Do you _really_ think Rhona's was that simple?" She asked him lowly as she washed her hand off in the sink. Her nose had at last stopped bleeding. Jai's brow creased but his smile remained as radiant as ever. The towel in his hand was bloodstained.

"You can't save everyone Eddie." She stopped scrubbing her face. That was her eternal rebuke. _"You can't save everyone; your father's choices are his own."_ Her therapist had warned years before as Eddie had pleaded for a way to find more personal strength. She watched the blood-tinged water run off her hands.

"True and especially a person who doesn't want to be saved," She looked at Jai and distantly her father. Rhona had only been saved because she had chosen to escape. Sometimes the prison was far more beautiful than the world outside.

 _I hope it's splendid for you_ , Eddie thought at Jai's faded and worn smile. In that subdued light she felt her knees weaken and she found the toilet in time to vomit.

"Eddie!" He cried from above.

"Excuse me, it was just a delayed reaction," She tried to explain weakly as the stress of her confrontation with Regan hit her like a bullet to her gut. Jai chortled softly instead of recoiling in disgust, like a true prince would.

"Like an invisible string…" Eddie flicked her wrist to mimic that string snapping. She heaved again and when she looked up through her irritated tears Jai was looking down at her in only pity.

“Eddie, please leave.”

“Huh?” she blinked, she didn’t quite grasp what he meant. Jai licked his lips and repeated himself.

“You have family in Orange County don’t you? Go back there.” He pleaded. Eddie stood up.

"This is about Regan isn't it? What is he going to _do_?" Eddie pressed, laying her hand over Jai's wrist and squeezing. He looked away but she moved closer. "I won't run away! I won't run away from something when I don't even know what it is—"

"Is it not enough for you its danger?" Jai suddenly snapped as he stumbled backwards as if he had already seen a glimpse of what was coming. Perhaps he had by his wild expression of fear. Eddie stepped forward slowly as if she was approaching a startled animal.

"I'll take Matthew then." She covered her mouth with her hands. Jai winced and wrapped his arms around himself.

"You can't." He said quietly but with a deadening tone. Eddie felt her shoulders stiffen. Jai took in her expression and reached out to her.

“Would it really be so terrible for you to give up that kelpie? Eddie you could be so happy if you would just give up that burden you never wanted.”

“How could I be happy knowing I had damned someone for centuries? Knowing I couldn’t protect my brother?” Eddie argued. Jai raised his head, a cool expression of insouciance was on his face. Was this his real face then? Just an extension of Regan’s cajoling? Was this all he had been all along?

“You could have your memories altered. You could forget all the terrible things that have happened. You could be happy forever.”

Eddie fell back against the sink. She swallowed, “I don’t want to forget.”

The prince kissed her then as if in answer. It was passionate but polite, controlled, a request over a demand. It was far more skilled than anything Naoise could have mustered but unlike the kelpie's kiss that only had had genuine passion in it, Jai's was almost cloying in its pleading. Eddie slowly lowered her hands to his shoulders and wondered if she should shove him off. He seemed to take the hint however and broke away first with a small gasp, as if Eddie had been interested over just surprised.

"Bad taste, eh?" Eddie asked with a blink. Jai groaned softly.

"Please don't make jokes right now." He begged and Eddie put her hands up.

“I’m sorry, I know what you’re offering me, but, Jai, I can’t take it. I never could, or can, if it means I have to give up everything I am.” She bowed her head. “Isn’t it the same for you?”

She watched as Jai took a step back, his loafers sliding across the marble tile in perfect elegance. She covered her face in regret. Could she weep now for all she was going to lose?

“I will help you escape.” Eddie looked up at Jai. He refused to meet her eyes as he made his terrible decision.

"Go to the bedroom that is three doors down, let me chase the spirits away before we speak." Eddie gave a low cry of gratitude and kissed the man's cheek. He gave a small gasp of surprise but let her go first. Eddie didn't look back as she rushed down the hall on new hopeful legs. Her prince! Her shinning prince! How could she have ever doubted him? She should have known all along he would do the right thing!

She waited for her ally for about twenty minutes before he joined her in the guest bedroom as promised. She was surprised it should be so quick but her gratitude and anxiety overcame any possible apprehension. She rose with an excited greeting as she laid her hands over the fluttering bird of her heart in her chest.

He had brought two drinks whose deep pink color made her fear they were alcoholic but he assured her they were merely an exotic punch. It had a strong and cloying aftertaste but unfortunately he had been unable to find anything else in the kitchen so late. The bird became torpid and flapped its wings heavily but Eddie's mind was still ricocheting with possibilities. She kept her hand on the man's arm to remain upright on the bed but didn't notice the distress of her body as she tried to glimpse the future she felt was promised.

"Come with me," she pleaded after Jai had explained her brother was currently safe with Kelly.

"If I left I would become another person entirely," he informed her almost wryly as he sipped at his drink. His constant excuse. She would no longer have it.

"Isn't that the point?" He didn't answer and Eddie continued on in fear she had just insulted him. "I mean, you could become a better person and not answer to Regan anymore."

"A person you could love?" he asked with a tight smirk that held some bitterness in the corners. Eddie smiled however and tightened her hold on his arm. She knew he must stay for the reason she must leave, but she felt omnipotent in her hope. The world felt like it was floating away from her but she was trying to hold onto its nuances and possibilities.

"Perhaps. There are all different sorts of love and I am not a good gal for the romantic kind." She tried to explain and continued to grope blindly for her line of thought. "There are lots of good places for discovering yourself in Orange County. I remember once standing on the edge of a pier and looking at the sun sinking into the ocean and thinking to myself…if only I could follow the sun to where it'll rise next, and I would see every person in the world…"

She looked at him poignantly and wished he would look at her. She wished she could just see his face. Why wouldn't he look at her? She pleadingly wrapped her arms around his arm. She just wanted to know one thing about him.

"Where are you?"

She collapsed into his arms in the dream of the staid sunset painted in violent crimsons, violets and oranges of memory and longing.

 

 

Regan had an unkind thought that even with his princess in his arms the prince looked unhappy. He would only have been able to hold her for so long, a couple of minutes, in the true passion of love even if she had chosen him. The prince had his own part to play and not even he was allowed a fantasy in this world. Only love had taught him despair.

It had been by Regan's generosity alone Eddie had even been offered an alternative after Darzi's cajoling and pleading. As Regan had predicted the woman had refused to save herself again. It didn't matter what man it was, she would never love anyone as much as her brother. It was her triumph and tragedy. Only by the small amount of taciturn respect Regan had for such devotion he had spared the crestfallen Darzi any snide remarks as he closed the curtains. The other man ignored him, lost in a shattered dream.

"Lay her down," Regan at last ordered as he walked around the edge of the bed. Darzi moved as stiffly as an animated corpse and avoided eye contact until Regan bent over Eddie to check her depth of sleep.

"Please, don’t do this. Is it really necessary to do such violence?" He asked lowly.

"You could have helped her. Escape. Perhaps you are capable enough to even flee from me, for a little while. But you didn't even _try_." Regan looked up at him with a smirk. "Because you don't want to give up what I have given you. She wouldn't want you at all would she? If she saw what you really are. So better _she_ is the one who loses everything."

Darzi didn't answer beyond furrowing his brow and clenching his fists, viciously tearing at the covers of the bed. He was fighting against his inner torment as he glowered down at the bedspread but didn't cry or scream at his anguish. So long as Darzi wished to remain the splendid prince he would remain Regan's slave. He was after all the magician's creation and entirely dependent on him. How unlucky for him he could not have been created without free will. The torment the angels knew was the same as the prince's, but unlike some of those angels, the prince could not fall.

"And she trusted you, you know." Regan picked up her cup and held it up for Darzi to inspect. Regan would share no blame in the prince's pettiness. "Two big drinks were all it took. She didn't suspect at all you were going to betray her."

"Shut up!" Darzi snapped and turning on his heel he left the rest of the dirty work to the heir of MacGregor. Regan exhaled and rolled his head. Well, one last distraction and he knew Darzi would not again bring up this affront to his pride. His role was over and Regan would carry this deception to its final tragic end.

No one else could.

"The Beloved is living; the lover a dead thing." Regan muttered as he gently cradled Eddie Moreno's sleeping face between his index and middle fingers. The poor girl would wake from a nightmare into unyielding despair and the depths of agony. That was the punishment however of reaching beyond one's bounds. For Edith Moreno was only a normal human woman and her wishes and desires meant nothing.

He gently laid her head back and sat down on the bed besides her, looming over her to lay his hand on her solar plexus. Her brother should be down in the gardens by now, lured out of the home by the phantom sound of an infant crying, and beleaguered into sleep by his drunkenness. Kelly and the rest were asleep save for Jai Darzi who would probably spend this night sulking in some bath tub. The home was quiet and all sounds would remain muted and distant no matter what occurred outside just yards beyond the side door.

"Eddie, Eddie," Regan gently called to the drugged woman below. She stirred beneath his hand, already caught in the net of some distressing vision. "What are you afraid of?"

Her eyes opened with an unfocused and bleary gaze. She swallowed as she took in a sight that belonged to no one but her. After consuming an elixir meant to separate the mind from all truth she could only see her psyche overlaying reality and obscuring it like a thick veil. With no more ties to the truth she could at last be enchanted and deceived.

"I fear being left behind." She answered thickly as if she was calling from the bottom of a deep well, or lake. "Everyone leaves— Grandmama, Matthew, Sarah, and Naoise. I loved them all but I have hurt them!"

She began to weep in frustration, "They should leave, I only push them away but I, but I…I just want something I could hold onto to!"

"Oh Eddie, oh dear," Regan soothed and patted the young woman's cheek to focus her attention back onto him. "What is taking them away?"

"Their disappointment in me." She whispered through her tears. “The selfish brat.”

"And what does it look like?" Eddie hesitated as her mind tried to give form to her terror and Regan quickly filled the gap with his own vision. "A man."

"A man?"

"Yes, a man." Regan nodded firmly. "A cursed man, a man who was born with a dead twin. A person like that brings sadness and pain wherever he goes. He has infected your life Eddie. It would be better if he was dead."

"Dead?"

"No one would leave you ever again if you killed him." Regan took her hand and squeezed it gently.

"No, no, I can't!" Even beyond all reason and rationale Eddie still repulsed against the thought of murder. She shook her head vehemently and attempted to struggle away from Regan. He grasped the woman around her shoulders and used his weight to keep her down. He gritted his teeth. _Are you afraid or so self-righteous even now-?!_

"No you can't," Regan whispered into her ear as her heart slammed against his chest like a desperate bird seeking escape. "It is too much for someone like you. However Naoise can, would he not do such a thing for you?"

"He would, love is like a seed, struggling to grow, and he wants, he wants to give me his bloom!" Eddie rolled her head back. Regan blinked at that impromptu poetry verse but the potion was likely reaching its maximum efficacy as it roiled in her stomach. He needed to have her give the order before all ability to keep her thoughts straight was lost.

"And this man is close isn't he? He lives close to you. He's near to you, laying his curse upon you." Regan pressed and Eddie gave a cry of despair.

"He takes away everything!"

"Then ask Naoise, Eddie, ask him to show you he loves you. Have him slay the man with the dead twin, the blight on your life and on those that you love!" Regan was suddenly shoved off the woman's body. As he was flipped to the right side he lost his balance. With no hand to support him he hit the floor as Eddie sat up, arms extended and reaching towards a horizon only she could see.

"Naoise, Naoise, my love, do this for me! Kill the man with the dead twin for me! Kill that man who is close to me and always near, the man with a curse!" She cried out reaching with despairing hands within her singular vision. Perhaps within this personal realm the kelpie was already before her and thus she had not bothered with calling him to her to stand before her in flesh and blood instead of in lies and terror. Regan however gave a long and vicious grin.

No matter the false circumstances the order would hold true and could never be rescinded.

"Naoise…" Eddie repeated shrilly with a decaying look of despair.

Regan quickly stood and gently took the woman's shoulders, guiding her words.

"You want to see him again don't you? Just ask him to remain after the kill, have him show the prize to you. Let your love belie all your fears." Eddie nodded and her voice grew from a tremor to a roar.

"Naoise! Remain by that man until I come for you! So that I can see you once more!" She began to gasp and threw herself forward with a wrenching sob, her request apparently suddenly too terrible to bear. Regan slowly pushed the woman back down to lay supine on the bed before she could possibly try to amend the order to unforeseen consequences.

"Sleep. You've just had a bit too much to drink. It's all been a bad dream. When you wake up the worse you'll feel is a hang-over." Regan informed her gently. He smiled at her comfortingly as she drifted away into the abyss of nightmare as her memory was distorted beneath the crushing hold of the potion. He left her to drown and shut the door behind him to open a window to the cold night air.

He looked towards the lake preparing to look upon a scene of carnage. He took a deep breath and braced himself. He had not wanted it to come to this. He knew Matthew Moreno was a good man. He was kind, loyal, and genuinely loved Kelly. Regan could fault him nothing but being an ordinary man and thus too weak to survive the world of the spirits. If only he had loved Kelly less. If only he could be as manipulated as his hopeful bride was whose will had been ground away by years of invisible guile. Regan didn't have the time however to spend ten years slowly extinguishing the flame of love in Matthew's heart. He would kill both birds with the same deadly throw, he would remove the Morenos from Kelly's life with their stubborn defense against enchantment and he would at last conquer Naoise of Lake Santos.

He would have never thought the kelpie would fall to a woman, but he had, even defending her when letting her be slain by Rhona would have freed him from the bridle. It was then Regan knew the fae could at last be defeated in the most insipid way imaginable. It was almost beneath him but with the pain of Rhona's departure was still as fresh as an open wound, he would do anything to at last settle with that damned faerie. Let the cost be one family's happiness. Edith Moreno had stepped beyond her bounds and she would know at last what it felt like to reach one's limit. It was his right as a wise man to punish someone who had so inverted basic nature.

It would be easy enough to let Eddie see her brother's half eaten corpse and make her an accomplice in covering up the crime. He would force her to confront Naoise while her brother's blood still stained his fangs. She would never forgive him. She would at last be forced to hand the kelpie over to Regan and only he alone would have the right to punish all the sins of that creature.

And to be merciful, he would slowly drain away all of that young woman's memories away of the fae, until one day she would be able to move past her older brother's murder.

This was the way it had to be for Eddie had gone out of control with her fae slave. This was why ordinary humans must not be permitted to know the spirits. It only ever ended in disaster, as in the one that had created him.

To be a wise man was a great and terrible burden.

Yet as he pushed open the window but there was no tinge of blood upon the air. A body was slumped among the roses but with no avenging kelpie near. The grass didn't even stir in the still night air. Regan leaned forward in surprise. The order should have been instantaneously obeyed. Whether or not Naoise was currently in Faerie he would have been able to return to the mortal world within a matter of seconds. Regan watched the still body for a few more minutes with suspended breath. He shook in outrage as Matthew turned over in his drunken sleep.  
Something had gone wrong.

Impossible! Impossible! Who else could have possibly fit the description given but Matthew Moreno? Despite the statistical improbability of her knowing more than one man who had been born with a dead twin Regan had even checked the medical records of every possible candidate and even all the men who lived in the basin and her former residences! Only Matthew Moreno possessed a record that included the note there had been a second twin who had been slowly strangled in the womb by the umbilical cord at birth. Born with death already overshadowing, how could Matthew be seen as anything other than cursed? His maternal grandmother and her daughter were dead and his sister would have died prematurely as well if not for Regan! A man like that did live with death over him!

And was not his kindness the blight on his sister's life?

"Who else?" he asked lowly as he stepped back in rage until he hit the opposite wall. Regan gritted his teeth and pushed himself upright with a vicious lunge. He rushed down to the garden to where Matthew struggled against his dreams as his sister wept in her sleep above him. Blindly he picked up a chef's knife as he burst through the kitchen. He only became aware of its weight in his hand as he loomed over the slumbering man. He clenched the blade and looked at Matthew's exposed throat where it flared against the dark grass.

It would be easy enough to slit it. The man probably wouldn't even wake up before the blood had gushed out of his jugular vein and carotidal arteries. Regan would have to hack open the body however, rip open the rib cage, pull the organs out; make it look as if a rampaging beast had done the crime and not a desperate man. The body would have to be so mutilated no one be able to later reconstruct the crime.

He could do it. He could do it. He could _do it_.

Matthew suddenly stirred and Regan stepped back, dropping the knife. The other man blinked and smiled sheepishly at the sight of his trembling potential murderer. He slowly sat up and Regan stepped on the impotent blade hidden in the grass.

"Evenin'. Guess I fell asleep, eh?" He asked with a small laugh. Regan just nodded stiffly. Matthew sighed and glanced back at the lake and left his back exposed. Regan found himself uninterested in retrieving the blade and slicing the hapless Matthew's spinal cord with it.

"I hope Kelly is not mad at me." He said as he stood up and brushed off his pants. He patted Regan's shoulder as he walked past. "Thanks for wakin' me up. I imagine I have gotten quite a cold otherwise!"

"The last bedroom on the right is still open." Regan informed him and Matthew nodded.

"Aren’t you comin' in?" He asked after he had walked a few steps away and noticed Regan was not following. The wise man shook his head wryly.

"I'm enjoying the quiet." Matthew shrugged but left the other man alone as he groped his way towards a bed.

 _Who did you kill?_ It had to be someone, and someone who also filled the second characteristic of being near to Eddie. Regan shook his head and looked down at the knife. There was no way Naoise could have resisted the order. The bridle was fae magic that had come into human use. A kelpie would not have been able to break its hold on his own.

"You sacrificed _someone_ , and someone she knows, maybe even cares for." Regan hissed at the tranquil blooms before him. His eyes narrowed, "and I'll make certain she will be unable to forgive you for it."

He raised his arms, "my spirits come out now, all of you. Scour the land, find for me who Naoise of Lake Santos has killed this night!"

He brought his arms down and he felt them wake and tremble. The small ones, the large ones, the ones that walked as men did, the ones that walked like beasts, and those that moved as only spirits could with no trace or effort. They heeded the call and spread across the countryside like flood waters. They would seep and trickle into every crevice of the basin until they plucked the truth from this stagnant night.

And raising his eyes towards the placid face of the night the wise man wondered _did you do it for love?_

He turned back towards the house where he knew Eddie was still suffocating in the grasp of the potion. He had already ripped open her psyche and exposed its viscera. Now he would make certain the wound healed into a scar. She would see only the beast. She would only suffer for a little while, only for as long as her memories of that monster remained. That would be the repayment of whatever debt of life had been created this evening.

And so the ordeal that had begun with his conception would at last be ended, though Naoise's anguish would only be beginning.

That alone would be Eddie's triumph in all this suffering.

 

 

Ulysses could sense winter seeping in through the cracks and crevices of the world. It rose like a fine mist over the countryside and ambled into the former sanctuary. It was months away, but the phantasmagorical chill was a fine miasma for his mind. He couldn’t look further into the future than the holidays made sterile from lack of joy.

For now it was a polite guest asking permission to enter his bones but later it would become a demanding and ransacking vandal. It would steal the life out of all it touched, including the breath from the dusty-rose throat of that young woman. The date had been set for January, the greatest hold of the cold. The slow rise of winter made his own fall more acute and in the greatest depth of its hold he would know defeat.

Ulysses prepared his cot as Yusuf prepared the tea as he liked to. A mint tea that was more like syrup in that it coated the throat like blood. It was a small comfort in the darkness.

Late at night when he was alone with his thoughts he looked at the red spot on his bedspread created by moonlight flooding the sacred heart of Jesus dyed on the window. The room had once been part of the chapel of the church and was the warmest part of the hovel with its lower roof. Yet an aching coldness filled his bones as he struggled many decisions he had made in life and the one foremost in his mind was the one that recalled an earlier disaster.

He had asked Regan to save Eddie, his nephew had promised he would do so. They had not spoken however since Regan’s mutilation, and perhaps the wise man would not forgive Eddie for her role in the violence. The temper of the MacGregors’ was cruel and vicious. Regan had inherited it from no fae.

He knew he must have faith for man was given nothing else. Life was strange and cruel. He had murdered his father and uncle to save his family. If he had had more faith in himself he may have endured his suffering and they would still be a great clan. Nevertheless even with the scattering he may have spared his blood even greater tragedies. Nothing was perfect; perfection was a concept man had created to taunt himself.

Ulysses sat with his tea on the steps of the altar and Yusuf sat opposite of him upon a pew, in some form of meditation or prayer. The jinn was not a verbose companion, he was happy to be silent for hours. Ulysses avoided speaking to him more than was necessary, he didn’t want to hear all that he may have done otherwise in his life. He didn’t want to hear that winter was a distant horizon and the earth was only getting hotter.

He had spoken to Hala only an hour before with nothing new to report. Regan still refused to speak to him, Eddie knew he could do nothing for her. She had brought him a cake once, and it was then she had told him Naoise had left.

“We don’t have anything else to worry about,” and she had smiled, a lie behind each tooth. She had left him an AA pamphlet.

Ulysses had decided to seek out Dougal the next morning, his one eternal ally. The one that had first conceived of destroying the MacGregors. He only confirmed what Eddie had told him. He also had no idea when his brother would return.

“I don’t want to bother him.” He had confessed. He gave a small smile with his next musing. “I think…he won’t be back until she’s gone.”

Then there was nothing else. Once Regan gave him his word he too was engaging in a stalemate. The lad would come around eventually. He would probably see how foolish he had been. Losing his hand had been a cruel lesson, but a learning experience all the same. For the first time Ulysses felt like he was allowed to have hope. He had placed his trust in Eddie, and she had not failed him.

Now all there awaited him was a thousand more horizons with no end. He would return to Hala’s couch only once or twice as she was getting on in years now. Her daughter Hazar was not as amused with him, and wasn’t Sighted at all. Soon everyone he had ever known would be dead save the faeries that had blessed him with an eternal curse.

"Ulysses." Yusuf raised his head in alarm.

“What is it?”

“It’s a fae….” The jinn narrowed his eyes and rose to his feet. MacGregor stood too, as if he could hope to hear anything.

“The waterhorse!” The jinn gasped. He leapt to stand in front of MacGregor as the back door clattered open. Long ago, someone had invited the spirit in, then. He gave a low sigh, and it could have only been Lorna that had given that berth.

Naoise appeared before him having followed a creek from the Via Verde and places further beyond. The kelpie walked as a man but his glamour faded as he collapsed. MacGregor could still hear his hoarse scream however as Yusuf held him back from approaching the fae.

“What’s wrong with him?” He lowly asked the jinn.

“It looks like that bridle is slowly strangling him.” Flames began to lick over the jinn’s form. “He has been given an order he is trying to overcome.”

“For god’s sake!” He pushed Yusuf aside.

“Ulysses!” Yusuf hissed.

“Damn it, it’s all my fault, isn’t it?” He grunted at the spirit as he knelt down to where he thought the kelpie was. Naoise’s glamour reconfigured to show a man suffering in rigidity punctuated by violent thrashing. His lips were white and his eyes bulged. Ulysses cautiously hovered his hand above the kelpie's twisted back. His hand was nearly torn off in a reminiscent way of a dog biting in fear. The kelpie's dark eyes were iced over with torment.

"She called me, not her, Regan! Regan called me through her, I know-!" he began to babble as he climbed to his feet. Ulysses backed away and for the first time noticed the bridle was slicing into his throat. It pulled at him, leaving a trail of fresh crimson drops at his feet. He lunged suddenly; all teeth and black fury. Ulysses narrowly dodged and tried to put a few feet between him and Naoise. If anything it was clear the fae was not in his right mind. Yusuf grabbed his shoulders, his shielding flames ran down the man’s body.

"Regan? You think he's done some harm to Eddie?" Ulysses asked. Regan was far too cocksure and conniving but openly hurt a young woman? Lorna had surely taught her son better! There had to be some explanation. Naoise huddled over in what could only be anguish.

"Kill the man with a dead twin." The kelpie gasped and Ulysses stopped dead. "Kill the man with the dead twin who is near me. Only two, only two…"

The fae suddenly attacked again with his jaws snapping. In an instant the man was in the air and seated on the rafters of the roof with Yusuf aside him. With his prey out of view Naoise's conscious side resurfaced above the rampaging monster.

"Matthew Moreno is one. I cannot, I cannot hurt her like that!" Naoise roared in despair and clawed at the bridle again, his hands adding to the blood trail.

Ulysses sharply drew in his breath. He had not heard his dead twin be mentioned since he was still a small child and his grandmother had explained why there was a large, white, and polished stone in the garden. He had been born at home like many children of the time. So his poor sister who had not even breathed once had simply been buried among the potatoes and radishes. She had not even been given a name and no other record existed of her save for that stone that still stood in what was now the backyard of his third cousin’s home.

Someone had to die tonight.

Ulysses knew that was how it must be. Once such an order is given the only way intercede it would be to kill Naoise. Even Eddie would have been unable to rescind the order. It had come down to a simple choice really; let Naoise kill him or Matthew Moreno.

He watched the kelpie thrash around on the floor with his target out of reach. A few more seconds and he would give in to the order. He would find Matthew Moreno, and he would kill him.

Regan had inspired this in his rage and agony. That lad had always had a cursed existence. It was an existence the old man felt responsible for. All this suffering had been his fault. He had been born into a cursed bloodline, and had not done a thing to redeem it. He had never justified his father’s murder.

It could only be him.

“Let me down Yusuf.” Ulysses whispered. The jinn looked up in horror as the crashing of pews being overturned ricocheted towards them.

“Ulysses I can’t be accessory to murder!” Yusuf hissed.

“If you don’t let him kill me he’ll kill Matthew Moreno instead! Yusuf! Someone _has_ to die tonight!” The jinn furiously looked away.

“My God, none of us ask to be born, do we? But when we are this is all we get. Life. It’s all we get! And my life, this life, was given to me by fae!” Ulysses cried out in frustration. It was all so damned wretched! It had always been so! It could have only been so!

“It was given by _God_!” Yusuf roared. It was the first, and last, time Ulysses saw the jinn truly angry. His eyes burned, his flames became an inferno that engulfed them both. Ulysses could only chuckle however, for the fury was not aimed at him. The tears the immortal spirit wept were in frustration. In rage at life itself, this thing that ensnared them all, no matter who or what they were.

“Aye. It was. And I am already damned, aren’t I, because I asked a spirit to prolong that life.” Ulysses smiled, perhaps the same one Eddie has given him a few weeks before. Yusuf looked away with his eyes tightly shut, tears still gliding down his immortal cheeks.

“Let me die with dignity lad.” Ulysses sighed. He could ask for nothing greater now. He would not even get to leave behind a written work. There would be no requiem or memento of this accursed life save for the life of one mortal man. A life for a life.

The kelpie had turned his rage onto the altar itself, perhaps trying to delay the spell for a few seconds longer as he glutted himself on violence. As it broke in two, the jinn put his arms around Ulysses’ shoulders and lowered him to the floor.

“I will never forget this bravery,” the jinn whispered to him. “I shall pray for your soul forever.”

“Thank you, thank Hala for me too, for all those years.” The jinn nodded and was lost to him in a whirlwind of flames. Ulysses exhaled and chuckled again, well wasn’t this a fitting way for it to end.

“Naoise!” He turned towards his executioner. The kelpie, as a man with blood stained jaws, recoiled on one half of the altar. “You may kill me! But only if you promise to spare Eddie Moreno!”

“I would have killed her. I wanted to kill her. She refused to marry me that night, she violated our promise.” The fae bowed his head as Ulysses felt himself stiffen. Naoise looked up however, only a man, and nothing more.

“But I cannot. I am no longer what I once was. Let that be your comfort in this.”

And the last thing Ulysses MacGregor ever saw was the gleaming teeth of great wide jaws.

 

 

The young woman awoke with her mind clouded by a departing storm of intoxication. She didn't notice how much closer he was. She was only aware of the terrible pain in her abdomen and a need to find a wastebasket to clear the contents of her stomach into. The shame lingered on however.

 _You've had too much to drink._ She wiped the bitter taste off of her lips. She had drank to the point of passing out? She groaned and covered her face with one hand as she tried to piece together the night before.

She recalled talking to Jai, being close to him, telling him disgustingly personal things. She sat up with a gasp and pulled up her skirt. Her underwear was still on and untouched. A glance around told her she was alone in the room. She didn’t think she felt sore. She laid back with a sigh and covered her face with her hands in disgust. What had she been thinking? As if Jai would ever do such a thing to her or anyone!

She swallowed and turned away from the sunlight leaking in through the blinds, but she was hung-over. She knew the feeling well enough and regret sliced through her innards. How could she have been so weak? Was she _that_ upset that Naoise had left? Oh god she vaguely remembered talking about him. To Jai? What had she said-?!

 _I just, I just wanted to protect Matthew!_ As more dim memories lighted by shame returned to her she began to sob. How could she have made such a mess of things? She was supposed to be keeping her brother safe and she had instead become drunk? Had Jai even put her to bed last night?

 _Worthless cunt! So selfish and disgusting!_ She rained abuse down on her head. She put her hands to her temples trying to hold in the voice even as it engorged her migraine with its squalling echoes. And had Matthew seen her at her most pathetic? She sat up at the thought of her brother as she realized she had no idea where he was, if he was safe. She gave a cry and leapt off the bed. She opened door after door to mostly empty rooms save one that incited an outraged scream from Gwen. Eddie didn't even see the girl as she looked for her brother and didn’t find him.

Kelly only paused before her dressing mirror where she was arranging her hair at the distressed look that suddenly reflected back at her. She turned and started to ask Eddie what was wrong but the other woman just shook her head and quickly shut the door to continue on her manic quest. She dared not touch the rooms she knew were Jai's, Katharine's, and Regan's. Instead she chose to follow the stairs down to the first floor and began checking the parlor and sitting rooms.

She found him in an alcove dozing upon a divan. She stopped at the sight of his peaceful face lying beneath the gentle light of the morning. So relaxed was his countenance however for a second she thought he wasn't breathing. She softly stepped towards him with harsh but restrained breaths. She lightly touched his forehead and receiving no answer there lowered her fingertips to his cheek. He winced and with a moan opened his eyes to the sunshine.

"Ed?" he mumbled and could only open his arms as a torrent of tears and a confession fell upon him. He held her hand as she wept her shame and fears. Unbeknownst to them that out of sight but within hearing range stood two other siblings.

"Did something happen last night Regan?" Kelly asked the man behind her lowly with her fist below her chin, holding her robe tight against her breasts, and for comfort.

"Nothing at all," he reassured her, running a fingertip gently down the delicate chain around her neck through her heavy and mussed hair, as lovingly as Eddie had traced the cheek of her older brother.

All the doors were shut in her heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So where have I been? At school. Which sucks up most of my very limited energy and time (if you want somewhat regular updates on my life follow my twitter @DMrgnstrn ). 
> 
> As for updating this, it'll be no set schedule but when I have that small snippet of time and energy, like today. Because my spouse is too hung over to go anywhere. So...Happy New Year! Thanks to you who have stuck it out with me! And feedback is always appreciated!


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Naoise meet once more, and unhappily. Regan plays his greatest hand, and gets his revenge, Yet Eddie cannot ignore the voice inside her that calls out to her, and she cannot forget the love she feels for the kelpie.
> 
> WARNING: GRAPHIC DEPICTION OF A MURDERED BODY AND AFTERMATH.

The smell of blood was hard to ignore. It had pooled around the body and alighted on the air like a cloying and heady miasma. The human man was laying crumpled on his side, his throat ripped open in a grotesque gash, and his hands clawed in the final shock of violent death. Naoise would not come near to the corpse however to even drop a blanket over the unfocused eyes. He was a predator and excited by the sight of spilled blood and especially after a kill. He had retreated into the corner away from the body. His self-control had become stronger and stronger as the heavy scent of gore had faded from the air, dissolved by cooling bodily fluids.

He would at least not desecrate the body.

By dawn he was alone. The fire spirit may or may not have watched the murder, Naoise didn’t notice his presence until he had raised his head, trying to not choke on the gore. As he swallowed their eyes met, the jinn had looked away first. Naoise had collapsed in the corner.

“Are you going to kill me?” Naoise had at last asked softly. Once his mouth no longer tasted of human blood.

“No.” But the jinn remained high above the killing field. “This was the will of Allah, the will of Ulysses MacGregor.”

“The will of Regan MacGregor,” Naoise sneered. The spirit didn’t answer. He billowed down to stand above the blood soaked faerie. 

“I am going to fetch my mistress.” It was a warning perhaps and not a comfort. Naoise could certainly not stop him, not when he had been ordered to remain until Eddie came. He only passively sighed at the statement and the fire spirit left him to his agony.

The fire spirit’s kind had been made much more in the human image than the fae. The jinn must have hated him for what he had done, but he would not take vengeance upon him. He was a demon glutted on human blood, a disgusting thing to any being of grace. A human, angel, or jinn had a concept of unjustified hatred, there was no such concept to a fae. All hatred was justifiable.

Naoise raised his head at the feeling of the hold becoming tighter. Eddie was approaching in the low rays of the dawn. He had done this for her. It was the truth; he had killed for her.

He had been given the perfect opportunity for revenge on the woman who had enslaved him. He could have at last killed his rival for her affections. He could have severed her last tie to this world. He could have taken everything away from her. When he had lost his ownership of her death he could have made her claim it by her own hand. With perfect impunity by her own weakness he could have avenged the breaking of the seal.

It would have been balm to a wound that still festered.

Instead he had torn the throat out of the innocent spare. He didn't know how Regan had conceived this gambit but Naoise was certain he had not foreseen the loophole. It was only due to Naoise's years of practice of sabotaging the bridle that he had detected the spare. And Regan was far too removed from his ancestors to know every crevice within the monolith of the kelpie’s malice. It had been a humanistic choice however to be merciful, even if the mercy had only been directed towards one person. It had been cruelty to exploit MacGregor's guilt but Naoise could understand the concept of duty. It had now killed every MacGregor patriarch.

Perhaps Regan had been his mother’s vengeance after all. Yet what was he, Naoise, now? What had that girl made him into?

He allowed his glamour to descend over his languishing body. His wounds from being strangled and torn by the bridle were healing, but slowly, humanly, in arduous inches. The pain from the gashes however were nothing like when his chest had been split wide.

The door opened and she walked in. It was strange how much smaller she seemed in this time from when he had last seen her. In Faerie a day had not fully passed but he knew it had been far longer for her. Not so long she would have aged but long enough for her to suffer more than he had.

Perhaps it was because he had always known her as his indefatigable captor. She had been afraid but she had never cowered or hesitated. Her life had been a heady charge to the end. Now she was wan, as if she had some inkling of what she was about to look upon. It was as if the white fist below her chin was a desperate clenching at the last strands of a shining world as she lifted her eyes to look upon the horror of grotesque death.

Oh but he had taken that summery world from her long before and all she was reaching for was an intangible phantom.

She stopped breathing when she smelled the dried blood. She began to struggle to bring air into her lungs as she took in the scene of slaughter before her. She raised her hands to her mouth but her gasps could not be muffled. She at last raised her eyes to look for an explanation. As her hands fell away in despair Naoise recalled that he was still blood splattered, having forgotten reality in the twilight of shock that had existed after the kill. Yet he would not try to hide the truth; that the blood was that of the last heir of MacGregor and his jaws were stained with it.

"Naoise." It was not a question but a lamentation. He stepped forward and though she stiffened she didn't step back.

"Eddie…" Ah, but what did he have to say? Should he apologize for sparing her brother? Defend killing an innocent man?

_I never lied that I am what I am. I take life. I would have taken yours not so long ago. I am more than this however. I am a guardian. I can protect life as much as end it. I only wanted to protect you. I only wanted to share this terrible world with you._

In such a world words were inept and inadequate.

Naoise offered his hand, palm up and open. In this place there were only genuine gestures of regret and sorrow. They only became corporeal through the acknowledgement others felt this pain. Eddie raised her hand and hesitated. She drew it in as she struggled against her fear and distress. At last however the hand spread open like a fish opening its fragile fins and it swam over to his. His fingers dove beneath hers. His cold fingertips brushed her flushed palm as his hand dipped to cradle her trembling fingers. He felt the pulse in her wrist and encircled that vivid beat of life.

For a second he dared to dream beneath these dark and oppressive waves that even now they would rise from these depths. That he could save her from drowning, and that she still loved him. That even the anchor that lay gored at their feet could be overcome.

The shadow that fell over them could not be ignored however. Regan MacGregor, the enchanter, the foe, vivisected the light from the doorway as he surveyed the scene with an impassive glance. His eyes however went wide as Naoise lunged at him in a perfect arc after he had pushed Eddie out of the way. The faerie leapt as a man and landed as a horse with his jaws seeking to paint the walls with the blood of the true perpetrator of the crime. Regan leapt back with a cry. He stumbled on an errant statue and reached into his coat. Naoise heard the slight clatter of the silver bells before they were fully exposed and with a strike of the hoof knocked it from the warlock's grasp.

His fury reached a roiling peak of hatred. He had never wished death upon this man as much as he may have loathed him until now. Nothing in centuries compared to his rage at this moment. Not the slow simmer that had led to his boiling wrath when his waters had been drained. Not even when his body had been violated by the MacGregors and they had attempted to crush his spirit had he been so incandescent with fury. Not even when the bridle had been slipped over his head the first, or second, time had he been so offended.

Only a few times before had he been so enraged. It had been those times when his children had been killed in service to the MacGregors. Those foals he had been forced to sire with mares that had never wanted him. They had been his blood, his bond with them explicit the moment they had been born. He had been furious, a slow burn that consumed him in incandescent flares at each death. Over time he learned to maneuver around the bridle. He found ways to curse the mares so they died before they completed the pregnancy or that the foal died in the womb. Over time the wound became a scar that ached in phantom pain.

The weal only throbbed when he looked upon the descendants of his children, mounts of the MacGregors that carried so little of his blood that no cry resounded in their death throes. Yet that trace was still there, it gave intelligence to their actions, brightness to their eyes. It had been three hundred years since he had sired a child, yet the prince’s mount had been unwavering in her determination to defeat her ancestor.

It seared however to see Eddie’s suffering. For he knew he loved her as much as he had his children, that his blood swam in her veins, as much as his did hers. He had used the same magic to save her as he had all his unborn children. With their memory blazing in his mind, he lunged at her, and their, tormentor.

“Criminal!”He would crush Lorna MacGregor's curse upon him into a gory red stain beneath his hooves and devour the bones! All that remain of the transgressor would be an inviolate stain. Then he would offer himself to whatever judgment may fall upon him. This act of retribution would be his however!

Eddie however would not be acting as judge today, only as executioner.

"Naoise, stop!" She cried out as the bells struck the wall with a horrid chime. The bridle bit into his flesh with its insidious magic and he was brought to his knees with a low groan. As he struggled to raise his head for a death blow his prey skittered away like a retreating rat. Regan propelled himself to the wall near the bells. He picked up his charm and two spectral hounds slid out from the walls.

The mighty black beasts sinuously fell to their master's feet and gave low whines of supplication. The bitch of the pair raised her fine head and showed Naoise her jaws. The kelpie snarled in reply, daring her to test those fangs against his hide and hooves. Naoise slowly realized the ringing of the bells had been meant to summon the pair, not fend him off. Regan would not be so arrogant as to confront an enraged kelpie with only a small strand of silver bells. It was the only way a pair of such spirits would enter a sanctuary. The kelpie snapped his jaws and Regan gave him a nonplussed look as he stroked the dog of the hell hounds.

"Well, I see your taste for blood had not been quite sated yet Naoise of Lake Santos." Regan commented dryly as he slid the bells back into his coat. The hounds remained near however and slowly began to circle the captured kelpie.

Naoise glanced at Eddie who while shaking had no cognizance specters of death for her kind were so close. She was rather watching Regan with a wary look. She stepped back when Regan stood but drew no closer to Naoise. He was unsure if it was because she was afraid of him or could sense the forewarning presence of the shucks. Regan looked at the corpse of MacGregor.

"It was only a matter of time I suppose." Regan looked at Eddie. "Before he would kill. It's in his nature after all."

"Regan?" The woman asked softly as she looked again at the slain man. Regan inclined his head.

"A kelpie is a predator, dangerous and never trustworthy. They may make powerful and fantastic slaves but they'll kill the second they get a chance. Anyone who enslaves one must never, never, trust one." The magician informed her pitilessly. As Eddie began to stagger at this horrible and subtle accusation Naoise assumed his human form.

"He lies! I didn't kill MacGregor because I wished to!" Naoise argued and Eddie turned towards him with a guarded expression of hope.

"Oh? Then tell us why did you kill him then?" Regan challenged. Naoise turned towards him with a vicious glower but he knew Eddie was the one with the true power. She was the owner of the bridle and thus the only one he needed to plead his case to.

"Regan has tricked you! You would never ask me to do such a thing!" Naoise countered.

"Do what?" Regan demanded and Naoise ignored him. He looked at Eddie instead. Eddie, who looked small as she bore their words with hunched shoulders and a hanging head. She bore their words and now the guilt of the death of an innocent man.

"Do what?" She echoed Regan's terrible question. She didn't look up but drew her hands to her shoulders as if she was trying to hold herself up. Naoise strained against the bridle again. How he longed to rip out the throat of the one person in all this that deserved it! He growled at the circling hounds.

"Naoise." Eddie pressed as he hesitated. He closed his eyes and unleashed the cruel truth.

"Last night, you ordered me to kill a man."

"What?" Eddie went rigid in terror. He had never seen her look so afraid, not even when he had shown her his jaws.

"See how he lies! As if you would ever order such a thing!" Regan interjected as the leering prosecutor.

"No she would not! But _you_ would!" Naoise snapped and Regan snorted.

"How could I when I don't own the bridle?" he challenged and Naoise was forced to concede for the moment. He had no true idea how it had been done but he could assume enchantment of some kind had played a large part.

How could he have been so conceited? He had not wanted to see the truth of the matter. Eddie had warned him that Regan still had power. He had tasted death and had wanted to separate from the Earth forever with the one he loved. He had been so angry at her he would have killed her. He had blamed her for breaking a promise when he had been the one to break his oath.

The woman was looking down at her murdered fellow with a grimace. She closed her eyes and turned away from the carnage. This was his punishment. This was what it was to be foresworn. What it meant to break a vow. Human could break their promises because they were only fragile clay, fae could never break their word for they were immortal spirit.

"Naoise. I order you to tell me the _truth_." She said quietly but it was above a whisper of shame. It was a muted statement of self-reproach.

"You ordered me to kill a man. A man with a dead twin. A man who is near to you."

"I, I…did this?" she asked as her hand clawed at her breast, desperate for something, _anything_ , to hold onto. She turned towards the corpse again and fell away from the sight. Naoise rose to catch her but she pushed out her arms and repelled herself from him. She fell to the ground rather than be touched again by him. She landed with a groan and pulled herself forward into a kneeling position so she would not have to look upon him.

"Eddie." Regan moved to kneel besides her and ignored Naoise's warning snarl. The kelpie knew by now however to not attack again in front of the woman. Regan laid a hand on her shoulder as she began to tremble. "It's not your fault. He surely tricked you."

Naoise stepped back. What could he say that would not make Eddie suffer more? He had only wished for her to not lose everything but MacGregor's death had been the price to pay.

"You asked me to tell the truth," he said slowly. "And I did. I can only hope you'll believe me when I say it was not a trick. If there was guile involved, it was Regan MacGregor’s."

"Remember Eddie he was going to kill your brother and he tried to kill you. He is a fae; they are all given to deception." Regan countered. "Do you really believe you would have given an explicit order to kill someone?"

"Eddie," Naoise gently pleaded but he knew it even before she looked up again. She had already turned from him, pushed him out of her life. There was nothing but the wall again, high and impenetrable. It was there in her broken and bitter gaze. _All I see before me is a monster._

"Leave me now. I don't want to look at you anymore. Go to your lake, go back to Faerie, go wherever you want, as long as it is out of my sight!"

He had to obey. He could only accept it. He had shown her all that he was. He would always be a monster to her. It would forever haunt her that he may have been more to her.

“I love you.” Was the last terrible truth.

The magic carried him away. He should have told her this was his fault, that this was the price of his arrogance. This was the requiem of a broken promise. It was he who had been a coward! Yet, it was the truth, and he would give her this to rally against Regan’s lies and deceit.

He contorted his body in anguish as he drifted to the bottom of his lake. Things could have been different. If only he had heeded Eddie's warning, if only he had laid down his pride! A million missed chances and possibilities chased him to the frigid and unyielding heart of his lake. His body dispersed into the indifferent embrace of the water. Each piece was a singular regret that drifted towards the surface, towards her world, carrying upon it a small fraction of his hope. When all thoughts of forgiveness had been absolved from him he let his consciousness float away on a gentle and reprising current.

And this was how he must exist without her.

#

Eddie felt like she was drowning. She was struggling to breathe and her limbs felt heavy. How she wished she could raise her head towards the sky and find the surface to break past. This was reality however and it offered no such merciful respite. There was a dead man besides her, and he would be dead forever. She was alive when he had bled out hours before. Nothing would change this. It was a thought to drive a person mad.

"Is this why you asked me down here, Regan?" she asked as she grappled against the fierce current of guilt and desolation. She looked at the red stain by her hand and curled her fingers but didn't raise herself up. Naoise's last words had been heart wrenching for she could not discern their true nature. Had he been pleading with her or punishing her? Perhaps it had even been a jeer.

_Does he still love me even now?_ She put one fingertip into the blood. It was real, sticky, and cold. She closed her eyes and held back her tears. She would not weep in front of Regan. _How could I think such a thing when he killed poor Mr. MacGregor?_

"The spirits knew first. I felt like you had to see such a thing with your own eyes." She looked up at him in distress. He smiled gently at her. "Do you think I am being cruel? Perhaps I am. Nevertheless Eddie, you must understand why this happened."

She looked down at what she had done. "Because I trusted him."

"That's right." Regan stood up and looked at the shattered glass of the window that had once depicted St. John. "He was just looking for an opportunity. It's not your fault ultimately Eddie. He just took advantage of your guard being down."

"But I let it down." She bowed her head. He gently pulled her up, taking her away from the carnage. Perhaps he thought she would be able to think more clearly without that terrible sight before her. Nothing would fade the phantasmagorical smell of blood that chased after her however or ease this pain in her chest as if the life was being crushed out of her by a settling weight. She fell onto a bench outside. She concentrated on the indifferent songs of the birds in the trees above and wished the entire world would stop and gape at the death of one man.

"You were drunk last night weren't you? You must have said something vague enough that he could twist it around into an execution order." Regan hovered over her shoulder. "After all why wouldn't Naoise wish to kill the man he surely saw as an accomplice to his enslavement? Kelpies can carry a grudge for _centuries._ "

Yes, she had surrendered to drink last night. She babbled whenever she became unhinged. She avoided drinking because she always said something she regretted. In her carelessness she had accidentally ordered the death of a man. She put her hands to her temples and tried to remember. It was like running into a locked door again and again.

Naoise had tried to lay the blame on Regan. That was impossible. What could have motivated Regan to kill the other man? Naoise was a monster. He was a liar. She felt certain of this, and yet, something cried out on the other side of the door, rattling it, creating echoes of insurrection in her psyche.

No, no, everything was as it appeared. She bowed her head and moved away from the door. Let it remain locked.

"I, I don't know what to do." Eddie at last admitted. She lowered her hands and shuddered at her pernicious indecision. Where could she even begin to atone for this? In her recklessness she had allowed for someone to be killed!

"Give me the bridle." She looked back at Regan in surprise. "Hand him over to me Eddie, is it not apparent he's far too much for you?"

"I…" she hesitated. So long she had resisted in giving her burden up. It was her personal agony to bear but now it had ended another life. She had wanted to save Naoise. For no other reason than selfish pride! To prove to herself and all those around her she was a good person. That she was not the horrid sixteen year old who had punched out her father in a drunken argument about her mother. That she had grown into a mature and worthwhile person. Her arrogance had only leaded to another disaster however. She covered her face with her hands, trying to recall why she had done such a stupid thing.

"Listen, let me tell you a story about a farmer many hundreds of year ago who bridled a kelpie. The poor man was tricked into believing for as long as the fae was his slave he must sacrifice a human life to it every year. So he went out and captured victims for the water horse. But the truth is what you know Eddie, kelpies are malicious liars."

_I thought he wouldn't lie to me. I thought after we made that deal we could be friends._ In giving him respect and not treating him like a slave he had become approachable, kind in his own way. He had only helped her and had not tried to abuse her. Until now, he had treated her like an equal so long as she did him. She had become close to him as they spent time together and had even found his company enjoyable. He was quiet, and appreciative of simple gestures and touches. He listened to her and when he did speak it was with purpose. It had felt like they had come to an understanding in a way no one else ever had with her. She had even felt affection for him and had once wished they could have their own life together.

_It was just a lie._ Those feelings and memories were shut away behind heavy and bitter wood. _"I love you!"_ He had cried out just to damn her.

"You fear he'll kill again under my watch, don't you?" Eddie asked softly.

"If he can do it once he can do it again." Regan warned.

"Ah," she knew this was true but she still hesitated. Were her feelings really so strong for a monster? Even now she didn't wish to see him suffer? But could she really take the risk of another death? She knew she _couldn't_ yet something cried out from deep within her to not give him up.

_Is this the feeling of true love then?_ This was the solidification of the dream so many chased after. Only now in this terrible moment of seeing Naoise for what he truly was did she know she was truly in love with him. For even knowing he was a blood thirsty monster she still wished to protect him.

But there was also folly and selfishness in love.

Loving him or not she had always known what he was. Yet for one night she had allowed herself to forget and catastrophe had erupted from her singular dream. Her self-indulgent and ludicrous fantasy. Naoise had played her for a fool, and she had allowed him to.

"Remember," Regan pulled her closer into his vicious bind. " _Remember_ , that he was going to kill your brother. He has already killed a friend, how long before he kills a family member?"

She remembered thinking Naoise was going to spare her. That he would dissolve from her life like the fog upon the lake as the sun climbed higher and higher into the sky. She had never thought it would end like this.

“I made a blood-pact with him.” She told Regan.

“I know. Ulysses told me.” He informed her. She licked her lips.

“Can he still kill me?” She asked softly.

“I won’t let him.” Regan answered staunchly. Eddie narrowed her eyes.

“Not by killing him?”

“I am not a murderer like he is.” Regan shook his head. “I am sorry you had to go through something like that.”

She drew her shoulders back and gave a long exhale. She closed her eyes.

_I wish we had never met._

"What must I do?" she asked when she was done hesitating before the bridge.

"It's simple enough, give me your hand and announce I now own the golden bridle of Warlock Willox." Regan instructed and offered that hand. Once more she hesitated, but Eddie shut away all the lingering voices of love. She took Regan's hand firmly.

"Regan Seele, I give you the golden bridle of Warlock Willox." She said strongly and immediately understood why Regan had been able to know right away when Rhona had found her pelt. It was like a string was pulled out of her and cut. She faltered from the ephemeral feeling and landed on her side feeling empty and forlorn.

Regan only looked victorious.

He helped the young woman to her feet however as she still held in her tears. "It's all over now, it's all right. We need to call the police now."

She didn't weep for all she had lost until several hours later. After she had finished the final interview and report. After Matthew had come to fetch her. After she had ignored all his questions and concerns. After she had asked to be put to bed though it was only three in the afternoon. It was only after she had denied herself any further sunlight of this day and had lain upon her bed, naked and wet, that she allowed herself to cry. She dissolved into her anguish. Her grief flooded from her body in tears and heaving sobs.

She dispersed herself into her dreams where every tear carried a sorrow and floated away from her until there was nothing left but an empty shell of an ardent agony.

#

Eddie had tried to not lose track of the days but found she had somehow when she was informed some indeterminate day was actually Friday. The television had been playing for an absent audience, filling the hall with its white noise, forgotten by Matt in his habitual morning rush. The sprightly newswoman chattered about the lovely weather there would be the coming Saturday and Sunday. Friday promised for a light shower in the afternoon however so one had better get their umbrella!

"Saturday afternoon…" was when MacGregor's funereal would be. She remembered being told so by a very exhausted looking Matthew at some point in the intangible timeline that had extended from that horrific Sunday morning.

"Jesus died on a Friday," Eddie mused morbidly as she put a few cookies on a plate. She looked around and found herself alone in the small kitchen. She blinked, was Matthew gone? No, no, he would have told her if he had left. Wouldn't he have? Eddie looked towards the distant drone of the TV and caught sight of a comb.

It was a hair piece Sarah had given her, carved from moonstone. Eddie curled her fingers as she recalled the feel of Sarah’s warm hand. Something to remember her by when she left. Her fingers opened. Naoise had tried so very hard to give her a moonstone ring. A way out of Faerie, out of their conflict, a gift of love. She had refused it, and now she had nothing but memories. The phantom of gentle lips on her hair, and the fangs hiding beneath.

_I don’t want to forget._

Regan had told the truth, hadn’t he? Hadn’t he? She had been tricked. Naoise was a liar. Keep the door closed and locked.

She hadn't gone to school or work since that morning. She was incognizant however how much of either she had missed. Ms. Takahashi had been over with a cake at some point and she was distantly aware at some point she should call her counselor. It was only Sarah who had drawn her towards the light. It was a slow crawl from those depths but she was now hovering at the edge after their talk yesterday.

Eddie had confessed to her crime within a day of the event to her sole confidante. Sarah had comforted her and though Eddie could not remember what exactly had been said during that first conversation afterwards she had slept for the first time since finding MacGregor's body. Sarah had come twice more since then but it was their most recent conversation, shared in Eddie's bedroom as the sun died behind the horizon, which had at last pierced the veil.

"I'm worried about you." Sarah had sighed as she sat on the bed.

"Sorry." Eddie said quietly, curled into a ball.

"It's not something to be sorry about." Sarah huffed as she glanced over her shoulder. "I know you feel like it's your fault and nothing I can say will make you think otherwise."

Eddie didn't answer and Sarah leaned over her. "So, maybe I have an idea to help you feel better. Take a walk.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow. Sarah smiled, “he’s everywhere isn’t he? Desensitize yourself to it. If you can get through one walk around the basin, you can push through each day after.”

“I’ll go with you if you like,” she leaned against Eddie. “Many an evening I’ve pulled up shrubs and kicked at trees.”

“No, I’m….not ready.” Eddie sighed and Sarah left her. Eddie was uncertain if it was in disgust or regret. Either way, Sarah’s life was continuing on, as Eddie knew hers must. Yet she was not ready to leave her coffin.

Regan had refused to ascribe anymore guilt to Eddie than being negligent. The woman had an idea that perhaps the wise man had his own guilt at the death of his ancestor. Perhaps his mercy was the manifestation of his regret in not acting more forcefully to prevent the tragedy he had warned about. Eddie felt terribly petty that she could not find it within herself to rouse any feelings of sympathy for Regan. As angry as she had been at his actions had they not ultimately been proven to have been the right ones in the face of her unyielding arrogance?

Eddie believed in kindness but with fae one must always act in prudence over all else. Prudence could be as gentle as a hand reaching to lift one up and as vicious as the hand driving the sword into one's gut. Regan had only been acting in necessity. Yet she found something like bitterness within her at the thought.

Was it pride or sorrow that made her doubt him?

Eddie walked out of the kitchen towards her brother's bedroom. His door was partially open and Eddie glided careful fingertips over the wood. She paused however at the sound of a conversation already taking place.

"—Just never mind, Aunt Luz, _please_." Matthew said agitatedly with his back to the door. He had his phone to his ear and Eddie silently shifted back from the door. "It doesn't matter what I think. I have to do what is best for Eddie. Things have never been so crazy before it's unbelievable—"

Matthew paused and raised his head up, he didn’t see his sister cowering in the doorway however.

"We've had some real trouble here. I _told_ you about Kelly’s cousin gettin' his throat torn by some sort of beast and Eddie findin' him. She's not taken it well at all. By the way she acts you think it was her fault! She's gone all quiet. I worry. I'm beginning to think that and Kelly brother's hand gettin' torn off are somehow connected. I don't know. I just want to get Eddie away from here. I want to take her to that therapist that did so well with her before. She's never taken death well." Matthew tried to explain to their aunt as his sister slowly down outside his door. He was quiet for a time as he listened to Luz and Eddie burned with shame.

"Kelly is….being a little weird," Matthew admitted and Eddie could imagine his grimace at Luz's protest. "I think maybe she's gettin' cold feet. It may be better if we were apart for a while. She's not havin' an easy time either with her cousin being killed or her brother being attacked.”

What had happened while she had looked away? Or was Matthew projecting his guilt onto things and skewing them in that hazy light? Eddie inhaled, _you can't run away Matt. You can't._

"Right." Matthew said after a pause. "So we'll be comin' in a few days. Thanks Luz. I appreciate it. See you then."

Matthew wanted to go back to Orange County? He was that worried about her? Or was he afraid of something else? Her brother who had been so resolute in everything before, was he becoming the coward Regan had imagined? That he would make such a decision without even speaking to her first and forsaking Kelly! It felt like an excuse to flee.

But what were they trying to escape?

Eddie sat stunned for a few seconds at this revelation and the pernicious sort of serendipity that she had been alerted to it as Matthew finished the call. She forced herself up as she heard him agitatedly move about the room, muttering to himself as he sought out his wallet and jacket. She was sitting before the TV when he began to call for her. She answered and tried to slow her breathing.

"I'm off to work for the day." He informed her as he slipped into his jacket. She nodded. "Will you be at home all day or…?"

"I was planning on going for a walk, and then to the college to get my catch up work and then the café to talk to Ms. Takahashi about being gone." She told him. He looked surprised and she smiled a little at him. _We were so happy here; do you really want to give it all up?_

"Are you feeling better then?" he asked.

"Yeah." She inclined her head. "I was very upset about what happened but…it did."

Matthew looked at her for a few seconds and then dropped his hand on her head. "One step at a time."

“Yup.” He left her then and she stood in the doorway. She watched his car be swallowed into the distance. She trembled in the doorway, never being so afraid in all her life. Even when Naoise’s jaws had been open wide to her had she not flinched so much as she did at the chickens scratching and clucking in the yard. Life was hurtling all around her, the clouds were zooming by in the endless sky, the dogs were digging holes by the water tubs to ensure a cool place to lay in the heat of the afternoon, insects were feasting, grass was dying, and the flowers were growing.

She hesitantly stepped back out into the world. It was a slow climb across the boundless earth. She traversed the yard in its microcosm of life and death. She interrupted nothing, as ethereal as the race of the cloud’s shadows on the dirt. She landed on the back steps of the front house.

Mindy was in town with La-La and Tom was out on the range. She had the home to herself and the store of whiskey Mindy kept in the pantry. She just needed a little courage to do this. It was why she had dismissed Sarah, she had not wanted her friend to see her this way. She would make this journey but she must also survive it.

She wrapped the bottle in her jacket as she began her ascent across the basin. She managed to walk on Highway 9 to the dirt road that led to Lake Santos’ bridge before she broke. The wind shifted and brought the acrid scent of water to her. She recalled its chill, his touch, and the sight of blood stained jaws. She fell to the dirt and opened the bottle.

_Just a sip. That’s all I need._ Just something to ease the pain. Just enough that she could make it through. It was as it had been before. She just needed enough to sleep. Just enough to see the end of the day. Just enough to forget.

Her steps became erratic as her body swayed. The path became blurred and she moved forward on the last lingering traces of memory. She found the shoreline on sound and smell alone. By the time she fell she forgot why she had come at all. She glanced at the granite cliff near her and covered her face as she dropped the half-empty bottle. She wept for no reason she knew, she could only feel something in her heart violently clattering. She smiled in her oblivion at the clouds overhead, even as tears continued to stream down her cheeks. She giggled that in the sun and wind she was going to become as dark as the mud clotting around her head. Perhaps she could even sink into the earth’s embrace.

Hadn’t she known someone once who had been born from the land itself?

Her memories came crashing over her as off in the distance she saw a dark shape emerge from the shrubbery. She rolled onto her side and trembled. She found no struggle to form the name even as the surge threatened to drown her.

She sat up and cried out into the silence.

"Naoise!"

The horse raised his head and the equine form melted away. Eddie drew in her breath as she realized by his light step and gracious posture that it was Dougal. His expression was guarded however as he approached and Eddie laid back down in total vulnerability.

“You still recall my brother's name lassie?" he murmured in surprise as he stood over her.

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked.

"Because isn't it terrible for you to hear now?" Dougal frowned and Eddie made no answer, uncertain how to define something between agony and desire.

"I couldn't just forget," she said at last.

Dougal tilted his head as he glanced at her. "But you will."

"How could I?" She demanded. She suddenly felt angry at Dougal's resigned countenance. "How could I forget what happened?"

"Because you should have never known about us. Your suffering is over lass, give up your burden." She gasped at his reproach. It was not angry or bitter but it was an inviolate wall between him and sympathy.

"I don't _want_ to forget about Naoise!" Eddie cried and Dougal's eyes went wide in surprise. She sat up even as the world violently tilted. She panted and struggled to control her tumult of emotions. Her rage devoured her drunkenness and made her furiously aware. "Jai Darzi told me once that I could give up my memories if I wanted. But I don't, I don't! I am an ass, but I am not a coward. I have always carried on. So I won’t give up now!"

She shook her head and grimaced. "It is my sin and no one will take it from me!"

Dougal said nothing in reply. He only watched her with a distant expression that may have been pained nostalgia. He knelt down and gently touched his cold fingers to her cheek to make her look up at him.

"But it was never your sin. Don't you see? It is Naoise's, and it is his to reconcile."

"But it was I who loved him and trusted him." Eddie admitted miserably.

"It is a sin to deceive those who love you." Dougal drew his fingers away and Eddie's face fell again. She stood up in an inviolate rage. The world swirled around her in a melting flood but she still lunged at the retreating faerie. Dougal easily side-stepped her first punch, a mirror reflection of Naoise doing the same to Matthew months before. He caught her fist on her second attack. His grip was strong and freezing.

“Why are you all so damned complacent?!” Eddie screamed. She fruitlessly struggled to get her grip freed from the kelpie’s hand. She clawed and pounded at him with her free hand. Her body violently twisted as she gnashed her teeth. He watched her fury with an impassive expression. “You, MacGregor, you act like the fucking world is nothing more than a constant rainstorm you have no control over! Is that why he died?! Because he just got tired of the fucking rain?!”

She used a foot to try to leverage herself away from Dougal but she found him as inviolate as Naoise had been the day at the pond. She gave a gasping sob as she dropped her head in frustration.

“Why am I the only one who cares?”

She lifted her head when Dougal suddenly pushed his arm forward, forcing Eddie down onto her knees with sheer strength. She gasped as he leaned down, using his weight to keep her arm wrenched back. Her body was pinned. All the time his expression never changed from emotionless smoothness. It was the face Naoise had worn when he had wanted to hide something.

“Just because I am not jumping up to put my head on a chopping block, lass,” his expression at last broke its cool countenance with a heated glare, “doesn’t mean I don’t care.”

He let her go and stepped away from her. Eddie recoiled on the dirt. She swallowed and rubbed her arm. She knew she had deserved what he had said. Though only her drunkenness wearing off made her aware of it.

"Why are you out here?" she asked softly when she could raise her face again. He was about a meter away looking towards the shore.

"Just listening to gossip." He responded and he looked back at her. "You look terrible lass."

“Mm.” She ran a hand over her head, her hair was a tangled mess from the wind and mud. “It’s been a rough week.”

She paused and sighed.

“I’m sorry I took a swing at you,” she softly apologized. Dougal absorbed it.

“I can apologize too,” he came to stand near her. “If I had not also been afraid Naoise had murdered Ulysses MacGregor, I would have come sooner. I would have had the chance to speak to him and perhaps the fire spirit too. I may have known the truth. But I was afraid.”

Eddie could find no more anger within herself. At Dougal, at herself, at Yusuf, at all of the doubts of mortal and immortal beings. They were all only given life.

She raised her face to look at the lake that had summoned her here. Even without its patron protector the waters pulsed in the ebb and flow of life. It was a complete whole in its being. Naoise who had scorned death's touch had only known immortality through the ceaselessness of the waters. His absence for the first time made it clear that his existence was as insignificant as hers in the great destiny of all of creation.

Yet one day his god would die, hers would not, and perhaps that made this task all the more perilous.

“But you would still not give up?” Dougal asked as he followed her line of sight.

“No.” Eddie smiled wistfully. “Not even if I wanted to. I can’t, I am incapable of it. Because…I am surrounded all the time by beauty, y’know? It’s lovely to just be alive.”

She swallowed, “maybe I’m talking nonsense, but it’s how I feel, half-drunk and exhausted. But…I don’t want to give up. Not even now. Life can be pretty terrible at times, Naoise….did awful things to me, and I did them to him but…even now, I don’t want to regret that we met. There was good there, even with the bad.”

She sniffed and choked on her tears. “I’m sorry, I guess I’m being stupid. But…I need that, to carry on. I don’t want to forget it, even with the bad stuff.”

"I say this Edith Moreno, if you loved my brother that much, that the memory is worth that much suffering to you— then show me he is _worth_ that."

Eddie looked up at the kelpie for a long moment with a terrible empathy.

"You feel guilty too, don’t you?”

Dougal narrowed his eyes. "My brother committed a sin but it is merely a question of _what_ he did. Keep in mind lass it is a perilous thing for a fae to love a human. It is a gamble that often ends in enslavement, as what happened to Rhona of the Ocean. My brother may have been bitter enough at the man to kill him as he's accused, but he may have loved you enough to allow himself to be manipulated. Either way, he pays the price for his actions."

"Would fae really turn their backs on someone like that?" Eddie cried in disbelief.

"You know the answer to that." Dougal said tightly and Eddie recoiled in remembrance. Yes she did. Rhona's suffering had only been alleviated by a human woman who had felt sympathy for that poor creature. To her people she had been punished for being foolish.

"I have heard nothing that exonerates my brother," Dougal continued heavily. "And I know his nature. So…"

He leaned down and gently tilted her chin up. "Show me he is worth saving if you love him that much. Your life will mean nothing to him now. Your love however may show his life has worth."

He dropped her face. "Nevertheless, if you insist on keeping your memories I would warn you Eddie, you may find Naoise was never worth your love."

Eddie didn't answer, for she was uncertain if she could even achieve such a task. She may only have her heart broken once again, or even worst she would be forced to acknowledge that she had been the one to betray someone she loved.

"Will you be at the funereal tomorrow?" Eddie asked softly as Dougal turned to take his leave of her.

"Nay. The spirits knew first and mourn in their own way. I will stay away from your human affair. But that is when he will be buried, is it not?" she nodded in confirmation. "Then pour a shot of whiskey onto the stone for me to christen it."

He smiled at her look of consternation. "It’s an old ritual."

He left, unconcerned with Eddie's disquiet at being asked to handle alcohol after her whiskey soaked confession. Life was full of cruel ironies after all.

The road to forgiveness was hard and even if it may lead to her destruction, it was hers to walk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap, I am so sorry NekoChan16 I have not responded sooner to you. I was just like now "when did I get thirteen comments on this?". So I apologize if this is late, but I've been...out of it. So to answer a few of your questions: 
> 
> I am not British, I'm American, from Southern California actually, I've never even been out of the country. I do however read a lot of classic work (it's my preferred genre actually, I know weird an author doesn't read her own genre usually, though I did when I was younger) and watch a lot if British TV (I really love "Keeping Up Appearances") so that may be why my writing style is so different from other fantasy authors, for better of for worse. (In fact an Irish movie actually got me interested in kelpies at all; "Into the West" with Gabriel Bryne.)
> 
> And yeah Regan does need "his head checked" but as I've said before I try to give him understandable reasons for what he does, though the logic obviously isn't all there.
> 
> So Neko & the rest of you-- feel free to keep giving me feedback. I'll get to it eventually. And I am going to keep trying to shoot for an at least once a month update schedule. I think I'm starting to get sick again like I usually do around Spring & Summer however, and the American election has not been kind to me.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of the end of Act III and the final climax. Stan receives a literal magical kiss from Dougal. Ulysses MacGregor is memorialized by shenanigans at his funereal. We at last learn of Jai's sordid past. Matthew, finally, learns this war was all for him. And most of all Eddie holds strong to her love for Naoise. 
> 
> This is one of the longest chapters in a line of long chapters so make sure you're in a well lit area or have a good screen-reader because this is walls of text.

The wise woman was struck by how little things changed over the years.

Oh there were satellite dishes upon the homes and faster cars upon the road than when she had first come here. There was a cell phone tower looming in the east, pathetically disguised as the sole palm tree in the region. There were a few new buildings and a larger population. Despite the small idiosyncrasies of modern life however the feel of this place was the same.

The basin was as devouring as ever, a wide maw lunging at the foot of the mountains. It caught all that slid down from the high cliffs; rain, rubble, spirit, and filth. Settlers had cornered the native tribe here and perhaps that violate bloodstain had bolstered the psychic scream from Lorna Seele’s sacrifice to forever trap a despairing echo in the land. Where it had once been farmed the land remained in staunch ridges, never forgetting what it had once been. The land, and the spirits tied to it, never forgot.

Hala adjusted her hijab as the wind tried to rip it off her head. She stepped off the train for a brief detour in North Vale. She huffed in annoyance as her joints creaked in the morning air. The jinn in his cobalt bottle rattled in excitement in her bag. After what had happened at home, she would not allow him to sit at her side. She laid a hand upon it as she glanced at the yakshani perched upon the rim of the fountain of the main square. The spirit merely giggled at Hala's greeting and waved off her questions off with a clattering of bangles before leaping into the water to disappear in its swirling embrace.

She looked up at being addressed as "Ma’am" and took the offer of shelter in a doorway as a young man stepped out of the way. She looked at his dark hair, gray eyes, and strong chin. Thank Allah for familial similarities.

"Have you seen a young man with dark eyes, dark hair with water weeds in it, and is a right poof?" she asked him sternly.

"Er, do you mean Dougal Burne?” He asked with a blink. He adjusted the bag on his back, probably full with textbooks. Hala gave a small smirk. She _knew_ his type. 'Burne', what a nice little joke as it meant 'river'. She would expect nothing less from the old nag.

"Yes. And now son, do you know he is a kelpie?" The young man stiffened and hesitated. His reaction was answer enough. She extended a hand. "Help an old woman down to the Via Verde."

The boy swallowed but did as he was asked. He allowed her to lean on him as they followed the main street to the docks.

"Tell me your name." Hala said.

"Stan Ngo." So it had been serendipity after all.

"Wouldn't be a relative of An Ngo?"

"Yeah. He’s my uncle." He glanced at her. "Are you a witch?"

"In a way." Hala inclined her head. "I am a wise woman."

"Oh." He seemed to muse on this for a few seconds. "How do you know my uncle?"

"Because I know my kind of people." Hala explained. Stan looked like he wanted to ask a question but Hala continued on. "That's why I must go and find Dougal. Fae are always so ungracious, imagine, making an old woman tromp about in this wind and weather!"

"Mm." Stan nodded in reply and Hala took that to be an agreement.

She pointed her companion towards a rabbit trail and they followed it until the shoreline gave way to a small cliff. Hala instructed Stan to carry her down on his back, her knees no good for such scaling. The young man was quite the gallant mount. He hobbled at an angle with her bag in one hand and his in another, but he never faltered.

"Such a strong back!" Hala praised from her perch. "No wonder Dougal likes you!"

"How did you know I know him?" He asked with a grunt as he carefully stepped over a stone. "Can you use magic?"

"Anyone can use magic, but it wasn't necessary. I know the sort Dougal takes a fancy to." Hala informed him.

"Even I can use magic?" he asked in surprise and he glanced over his shoulder at her. She met his gaze squarely.

"Correct. It would be very difficult for you to however, it always is for humans, save some. For spirits however it's easy. No human however ever approaches the skill with magic a spirit intrinsically has. You want a magic favor lad? Go ask Dougal. He give you anything you like I imagine." Hala chose to not inform the young man as a human with a small amount of spirit blood it be somewhat easier for him to cultivate magical skill. The Ngos had an unfortunate record with magic; she didn't need to hang another victim on that tree. This boy had apparently never questioned why his father had moved out of Orange County, away from the family stronghold. Dougal's attention was perhaps a thrill for the boy, a flattery, but at least that kelpie knew better than to tempt disaster. The wayward brother had apparently taken care to keep his son in ignorance, and it would seem even An had respected this.

"Dougal has many favorites I imagine," Stan snorted softly as he let the woman off his back as they came to the waterline.

"Only one about every generation," Hala shook her head as she leaned on her cane. "He had quite the fancy for MacGregor when I first met him. Told me that the young man even overcame his dislike of red hair."

It was Dougal that first introduced her to Ulysses, long before he had ever returned to the basin. Lorna had been standing beside her that day, almost afraid to look the kelpie in the face. Somehow Hala continued to live on when so many had died because of their spirit blood. She glanced at the young man besides her.

"If you're bothered, don't worry. He'll let you be once you get a wife or get some fat on your belly." Hala informed him as she stepped forward. Stan didn't answer and Hala feared that perhaps the opposite was true and he wished those attentions would become something more.

Long ago one of her ancestors had mated with one of the jinn. She had been stolen away by a female jinn as a child for a few days, but Hala had never been able to understand how some humans were tempted to be intimate with such creatures. Hala had seen the emerald mountains of the Kaf and she still had preferred the modest earthen home of her childhood.

The magic, the beauty, the eternity, none of it was worth the suffering.

"The good thing about Dougal is he comes when you call," Hala mused as she reached into her shoulder bag to pull out a tin. "But an offering never hurts."

She opened the tin and tossed onto the water the pieces of raw lamb. "Dougal of the Via Verde, it is I, Wise Woman Hala Nejem. I have come for an audience. Will you see me?"

The kelpie answered by parting the water a few seconds later. Stan had been staring rather intently at the rapidly submerging meat in the fluctuating water. He startled however when the fae suddenly appeared before him, revealing not only that he didn't have Sight but that he'd had no prior inkling that spirits were usually invisible to normal man. No wonder he was enchanted; ignorance is bliss.

"Greetings to you honored one." Dougal greeted as he pulled himself atop a boulder to perch upon. With his glamour he appeared as nothing more than a handsome young man. Nevertheless Hala had seen that split second of something made of darkness that had crawled out of the depths of the waters thousands of years ago when he had surfaced. That was her jinn inheritance. A spirit could never fully hide from her as they could every other human.

He beamed down at Stan. "I see you have found a friend of mine."

"A pretty Ngo boy, not many of those," Hala informed him with a stiff nod. Dougal smiled indulgently and Stan blushed.

"But I suppose you are here to ask after what has happened in Orangeblossom over my private life." Dougal continued as he sat back. Hala nodded as Stan took a seat, apparently happy to be a silent audience.

"Yes. What's your impression of it?"

"My brother is an idiot." Dougal said easily. He shrugged. "I am just uncertain if this resulted from his misjudgment or hers."

"And what of MacGregor's?" Hala pressed with a frown.

“I was not there that night,” Dougal gave her a flat expression and she sighed.

“You want to talk to Yusuf.”

“Is there a reason you’re keeping him from me?” The fae kept smiling but his eyes narrowed, an expression of warning that Hala knew well.

“Regan purposely delayed me for a few days. There has to be a reason why.” Hala sighed. There was more reason than Dougal’s affinity that she had found the Ngo heir.

The kelpie blinked and then barked out a laugh.

“You humans who always think you can protect spirits! You are so like that girl!”

She knew it then by the bitterness in his voice.

"Ah, so you _do_ think Regan may have had some part in this."

Dougal inclined his head. "If that lad was so foolish, I must say it matters not, it will come to the same end. Naoise _will_ kill him one day. As we did every one of our captors.”

“Save one,” Hala frowned and Dougal gave a wry chuckle.

“She really fell in love with my brother. Even now she either knows, or hangs onto the delusion of, that Naoise was manipulated into killing MacGregor. So I told her to find a reason why he should be saved.”

He beamed, “you all so wanted her to stay alive, well, now, she has a reason for living!”

An immortal creature could never understand the true value of life, but the brothers may have been the closest of all of their kind to having tasted death. Dougal understood that life having meaning was the only reason to continue it. His anger and malice had let him survive his enslavement of centuries, he would see the same sort of rage in Eddie Moreno. It was dangerous for a human to live that way, for if she found she had been in vain, she would surely break. She may shatter even if justified, to feel such passion. Such madness belonged to spirits alone.

Yet, that insanity may save her and her beloved. The woman was already mad to have loved a monster. What remained of her humanity to be so in love with her own death?

“I must protect her.” It was her duty as wise woman. To become a sheath to that madness.

“And what did your fire spirit say to you?” Dougal asked.

“He believes Naoise spoke the truth,” Hala admitted. “But he cannot deny there is the possibility that he lied.”

“Sarah thinks the same way,” Stan suddenly interjected into the conversation. He elaborated at Hala’s questioning look. “Eddie’s best friend. We found her after that night Regan got his hand torn off.”

Hala frowned, perhaps there was a destiny for those with spirit blood. Though his father may have tried to spare him, Stan Ngo had been discovered all the same by the spirits. Those traces were just too powerful to deny.

“Then, you two are among the few who know the truth,” Hala sighed. Stan nodded.

“I know. It’s…amazing I suppose. I mean, I never wanted this sort of thing but now that it’s happened…” He shrugged helplessly, unable to give words to his frustrated desires. He was impressed, but not necessarily in a good way. Dougal grinned at him however and slid down from his rock to walk towards shore.

"Aye. You can have any gift you wish for in our favor, but in our hatred you can know every agony." His smirk grew wider as he approached Stan and leaned down to be eye level with him.

"But you are Eddie's friend are you not? And you'll be going to that funereal?" Stan nodded.

“Regan Seele planned it, so I wouldn’t doubt that there’s going to be more shit going down.” Stan said easily.

"You mean to protect her then. So do I. Will you help me with this?"

Stan again nodded, without hesitation. Dougal cupped his cheek and with no preamble he kissed the young man, deeply. Hala looked away but she was already aware of what was occurring.

"Then go do so." Dougal instructed the young man as he pulled away.

"What, what did you do?" Stan looked like he had a train suddenly speeding towards him.

"I gave you a taste of my blood lad." Dougal's grin became wider. "It is my favor to you, you'll be able use some small part of my magic as your own. Do not waste it however, it usually only lasts for one act."

Hala frowned at the idea of giving an ignorant boy a literal taste of magic. Still spirits always did as they pleased and often a wise human was left to only pick up the pieces afterwards. Stan looked sufficiently mollified and nodded. He stepped back, licking his lips, and Hala gently pulled him back from a looming potential for disaster.

She thanked Dougal and excused herself and the boy. The kelpie let them go with a bow. As Stan carried her back up the bank Hala could tell she was only nursing another headache. She had no real inroad into this community. Lorna was long dead, Regan had become her enemy the second she had tried to expose his prince. These spirits were not her own, and most of them belonged to the wise man of the basin.

It was not her place to exonerate Naoise of Lake Santos. It _was_ her responsibility however to protect that girl. If she had been abused by Regan Seele he had violated his oath and would lose his standing as wise man. Hala sighed as Stan set her back down onto the soft earth of the basin floor. Only such a place would boast something as specious as a half-fae guardian.

She kept her fears and worries to herself as she allowed Stan to escort her to Orangeblossom. The young man was not talkative but Hala could coax an oral biography from a mute. Through careful prompting she had Stan divulge his entire knowledge of the affair between the girl and the kelpie as the bus rumbled along the soggy highway.

"Personally, I always thought it was crazy." Stan opined after he had announced the bare facts that the slavery had metamorphosed into the fulfillment of a death wish. Hala rubbed the mounting pressure in her forehead and looked at Stan from beneath her palm.

"I thought for a while maybe Eddie was a lesbian. Sarah was always tryin' to get her dates but she never wanted it. I thought maybe she should leave her alone. But I don't think it was a case of always being secretly fond of horses." Stan informed the wise woman gravely. Hala raised an eyebrow, uncertain if she cared to hear the end of this.

“I think no one listens to that girl. She tells horse-face she doesn't want him and he threatens to kill her. She said he was very much about roles and not being able to be anything but what he was. I think what happened was…loving her he couldn’t be the guardian or local terror or whatever, so he gave up.”

He paused and mused before he finished, “So what I wonder is…why didn't Eddie realize that?"

Hala blinked, not sure to feel amused or impressed that the young man was actually cleverer than he initially looked or sounded. If one was becoming more like the other, the situation was likely mutual. Nothing could be answered really however until she spoke to the young woman in question. Yet the thread remained.

Stan sat back with a loud sigh. He gave a small smile however. "But even with what happened, I'm a little glad that I got to know about the spirits."

Hala also sat back and looked away. She watched the town of North Vale roll away and disappear into the rain and wind. The open countryside trembled as it was doused in the downpour.

"Are you a Muslim then?" Stan suddenly asked, interrupting her thoughts, apparently unable to contain his curiosity for any longer. Hala gave an affirmative nod. "I could tell by the scarf."

"Most can," Hala allowed. She smiled however and decided to pump this information well some more. She asked about the town gossip regarding the mystery of MacGregor's death. People were locking their children in all night in fear of some beast or deranged human. There were rumors the gang that had mutilated Regan Seele was responsible. Humans who had plenty to fear from what they could not see instead cowered in terror from what didn't exist.

She thanked Stan as the bus groaned and shivered in the rain as they disembarked from the old machine. He asked if she had a ride and she assured him she did. He pointed her at the market that hosted a small collection of chairs within. She took the opportunity to rest her joints and sighed as she sat upon one of the wicker chairs.

She bought a bottle of ibuprofen and she pondered the task before her. An Ngo arrived only about ten minutes later. After the greeting Hala excused her husband's absence by explaining the man was suffering from pneumonia. It was the latest ailment in a lifetime of lung maladies. His infirmity was how she had first met him even. She shook her head at An's sympathetic exclamations.

“I have to ask,” she said as she sat in the front seat of his Mercedes, “why you are also here today.”

“I don’t get involved in the personal affairs of others,” An smiled. “I am here only to watch.”

And swoop in surely if a kill was made. Hala only nodded. The confederation of wise women and men was a motley one. They had no leader, no council, only a code of conduct. Above all else this was to protect the mass populace, yet every wise person would have a different view on what this truly meant.

About half an hour before the start of the funereal the guests were allowed to find their seats. An went to pay his respects to the family. Hala chose the back well aware a lack of attention was always beneficial. People largely didn't notice her among the roses by the statue of the Virgin but Regan Seele's eyes fell upon her as soon as he walked in with his family. He smiled at her and Hala nodded. She thought it was a strange sight to see the Seeles without their selkie slave in tow. It would seem Regan had had to lose much before he had been able to rectify his birth. Perhaps it would only be fitting if his revenge culminated in his death.

Perhaps he had never known however that he could have lived another way.

The mass began and Hala remained sitting through-out, occasionally having the thought that Christians made too much of kneeling and standing. She remained a passive viewer to the mourning. Though not one person shed a tear for the last MacGregor heir. The man who had given up his life for his family was not missed by one of them. It was not cruelty but the ultimate price of abandonment. They came in respect for him at least, though only one knew anything of his true legacy. They thought him the unknown descendant, not the one who had freed them all.

She, and she alone, could cry for the dead man, for she had seen his years of suffering. She had seen death in his eyes long before it ever came for him, the illness of sorrow and the desperation of a life without meaning. Yet she would not. Funerals were for the living, not the dead. She would not try to reach after the dead when she would only grasp nothing at all. She had long since learned to not expend energy on useless things.

It was only fate that perhaps Ulysses had chosen his death, a tragedy few knew. 

Instead she passed the time by reminiscing on the man who had been a friend but never a mentor. She disliked the thought the man had deserved his death and decided to reserve true judgment until she had found the young woman whose life may have also been destroyed. Her thoughts became boats to drift down the stream of memory on whose banks rested nostalgia, happiness, acceptance, and regret.

After the coffin had at last been laid into the ground and everyone had thrown their handful of dirt Hala came forward. She walked up to the wise man and gave him her own measured smile.

"Hello Regan, it's unfortunate to meet again like this." The last time had only been about a year ago when he'd lain to rest his mother's husband. Hala had not been fond of or hateful of the old man but she had however come as an old friend of the Seele family. The new wife once again _tolerated_ her stepson's "strange friends" and once again distanced herself by dragging away her stepdaughter. It was as if she thought she could save any of Lorna's children from something as pernicious as magic. Hala had to congratulate Katharine on her determination over her sensibility.

Nevertheless Hala ignored the snubbing she had received all her life. In her homeland it had been her association with the jinn and La Sorcière, in the States it was her foreign customs, and always her skin color. She had respect from those that mattered, and could care less about those that did not.

"I agree," Regan said good-humoredly but with a certain sly look that showed he was still on guard. He was aware of what Hala had thought about keeping the pregnancy that had carried him. He was always on trial among even his own rank. "Unfortunately however, it may have been the only way a man descended from Warlock Willox could have gone."

And Regan had already accepted that fate for himself as well.

"And you have that kelpie under your control now?" Hala asked lowly as Regan led her outside and towards a secluded corner of the church garden. The blooms of the roses had died long ago and left nothing but twisted thorny branches to shield them from view.

"Yes. That girl handed him over of her own free will." He beamed like a boy that had done good.

“And was it _not_ just such a coincidence that very day that encantado found Rosaria Nogales in Palisade Beach _months_ after her family had moved from Brazil? La! I of course had to use Yusuf to save that girl, giving you a week of peace!” Hala beamed right back at him. Regan only chortled at the merry little tale.

“Well, like fae, the encantados can be quite _persistent_. Eddie Moreno is lucky to have survived. She refused to go with Naoise when he declared the pact over. I think he would have killed her next.”

Hala’s mouth twitched. She had not met anyone as stubborn as herself in a long time. She had left Yusuf behind to grease the wheels, but she had hoped that ultimately that girl had known what she was doing. She may still, they all made mistakes. Perhaps her difficulties however had made her a little bit more tolerant.

"Yet Eddie still keeps her memories?" Hala asked.

"Mm." Regan glanced through the tangle of thorns and pointed her out to Hala. Her back was turned, but Hala could easily remember those imperious eyes. "I am slowly drawing them away from her of course but she may be moving back to Orange County soon, where her family lives. So whatever way it goes, she won't be in danger anymore."

Hala glanced at him.

"Do you have any objections if I speak to the girl?" Hala asked carefully.

"Of course not." Regan smiled and kept smiling as Hala left him. She shivered, that man had always been so eerie. Even as a child he had been an unknowable depth of concealed emotion. One only ever received what they expected from Regan Seele but one always had a feeling that it was not a true action.

Hala pulled her collar up and tromped across the mud with heavy steps. Stan looked at her from across the way but she shooed away his questioning look. The young man may be knowledgeable about spirits but this was to be a conversation between two women. One needed to know disaster in order to truly understand it.

Hala was not necessarily surprised the girl was currently biting her finger as she muttered "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," again and again as she slowly poured whiskey on the grave stone.

"That’s not how it goes." Hala informed her sternly as she snatched away the bottle. The girl stepped back with a gasp. Hala shook her head she began to pour. "Oh whiskey wise and true, soak down to his bones through and through. Tonight we'll drink high to remember our old friend and never speak ill of his end."

She handed the bottle back to the wide eyed girl who sighed softly. "Thanks."

She placed the bottle in her coat. “Where’s Yusuf?”

“Hiding.” Hala informed her. Eddie sighed and shook her head.

“Does Regan have something to do with that?”

“Yes.” Hala let Eddie fill her own explanation into the void.

“Was he there that night?”

“Yes.”

“And that is why he’s hiding, isn’t it?” Eddie’s shoulders slumped. Hala nodded, Eddie was cleverer than she often behaved at least. Eddie made a frustrated noise.

“Did he talk to you about it? Please I have to know-!” She gasped.

“Yusuf does not think Naoise is guilty.” Hala told her. “But given the nature of fae one can never be fully sure if they were tricked.”

"What would you do, if you found out who was really responsible for Mr. MacGregor's death?" Eddie asked with a level look.

"If I found out it was you because you were deceived by that kelpie I would hold to Regan's decision to not punish you as that is _his_ decision to make." Hala informed her.

"And Regan's enslavement of Naoise is punishment enough for him," Eddie finished with a frown and Hala nodded.

"I can't believe I'm getting off this easy!" Eddie gave a small cry. "I know Regan wants to erase my memories of Naoise but even with that, for the death of a man…"

She bit her finger again and looked away. "It's unbelievable. You know Dougal right?"

Hala nodded.

"He says if I still love Naoise I should find if he is worthy of that love. Yet the way he said it, it makes me think, that, even if I did it, it wouldn't matter. It wouldn't matter to the fae because Naoise had still done something that is like a sin by their standards. All I would find, all I would find…"

Her voice grew to a horrified whisper. "All I would find is that it was I who betrayed _him_ and not he who betrayed _me_."

"And to live with that knowledge would be a cruel punishment." Hala said heavily and Eddie looked up with a perfect expression of despair. Hala looked away.

"If I found reason to think Naoise should be saved, what could I do?" Eddie asked.

"I think only you could answer that," Hala told her succinctly. It was best she know the truth now. "There is reason to believe there was more to that murder than what may immediately appear. Nevertheless I cannot interfere in the matters of the spirits; only spirit _and human_. Dougal is the only spirit that cares about Naoise, but even he isn’t in a position to unravel this alone. He reached out to you for _help_ that day."

"I understand." The woman bowed her head.

"Love makes us vulnerable." Hala lifted Eddie's chin to force the other woman to look at her. "This is true for spirits too. If Naoise didn't think your love was a compliment to his vanity, it weakened him. Keep that in mind."

Eddie stepped back with a down turned mouth and tight shoulders. She nodded however and seemed to swallow the bitter pill down.

"I know even if Regan forgives me, that doesn't mean I have not sinned." Hala blinked at this self-deprecation. Eddie was not saying this however to be self-pitying or to play the martyr however. There was fierce determination in her eyes. She was preparing herself to burn. “So I will find why I still love him and don't want to forget him even if it's only because I want to be aware of the depth of this sin I have committed.”

Hala slowly smiled but it was a small and reserved one. This was the passion Dougal had encouraged. This madness was what may consume her.

But perhaps now Hala would be able to know the truth she had been unable to find. She could help save Eddie Moreno by finding this truth. Within the confines of her duty however, there was the personal urge for revenge. She must remember her duty, but Hala was also one to make use of an _opportunity_. MacGregor’s death must also not be taken lightly, not by her.

And though Hala knew better than to directly plant the idea in the woman's head with Regan's servants listening to every word, Hala _could_ mediate in human affairs and Regan was still a half human man. If Edith Moreno engineered a crusade to expose Regan Seele for the crime of murdering Ulysses MacGregor, Hala could join it and could guide her in what must be done.

"I wish you luck child." Hala bowed her head. Eddie blinked.

“You…are not going to get involved in this?”

“Before I was involved because Ulysses asked me to be, and because Dougal asked us to.”

“Dougal?” Eddie shook her head. “From the start!”

“To finish, but this time it is _you_ he asked for help, not me.” Hala blithely informed her. “Regan is this area’s wise man, I cannot intercede when I am not asked.”

Hala lowered her voice, “though I may be asked.”

“I see,” Eddie murmured.

“I know we disagreed in the past. I would not apologize for it until I see the end of it, nevertheless, it is my duty to protect the vulnerable. And you, Eddie Moreno, are in the worse position.”

“I know,” the girl smiled. “I know.”

Probably to Regan's relief Hala announced she would be taking her leave and was not attending the wake. She after all had an ill husband and no real love of the rain. He asked if she had learned anything interesting from Eddie Moreno. Hala had smiled knowing Regan had already heard every word from the yakshani but answered that only someone with a martyr complex would endure Naoise of Lake Santos’ company for so long.

"Well, nothing like it will happen again at least," Regan said after he had laughed in response. "Not on my watch."

"I can only hope," Hala let her words remain cryptic. She may have been referring to the murder, or to the fact of the trouble there may be if the kelpie had managed to catch the girl between the legs before they had been separated. Regan gave her his smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and as she walked away.

Things never changed in the basin, everything was always on the verge of being swallowed up.

#

Jai Darzi knew wizards were ambiguous figures. In stories they could just as easily give curses as they could favors. Magicians and their ilk operated beyond the simple archetypes of good or evil. They existed just outside the bounds of the story but often were the nail upon which it hung.

When he had first met Regan he had been the fairy godfather. He had been kind and generous. He had been a mentor with a snide sense of humor and a gracious manner. He had dropped into Jai's life at the worst moment and had resurrected him. Regan could not grant every wish but he had given Jai a life. A splendid life, a life he knew he must be grateful for.

Now however Jai was beginning to feel like he had been trapped in a petty fantasy over the fairy tale he'd envisioned. Jai had seen the true face of the god of this world and it had been that of a desperate and frightened man. Just a man and nothing more. How naïve he had been only a year ago when Regan had pulled him away from the monstrous raft of Sita's floating body.

The true prince, the prior Jai Darzi, had leapt into the river to save the drowning girl, only for both to tragically fall victim to the strong current. He had been beautiful and strong, unafraid at all as he had thrown off his coat and shoes and dived off the bridge. He had plunged headfirst down at the sight of one frail body. He had reached to draw Sita into his arms only to have her fingers brush his as he was pulled down into the furious depths.

_He_ however never lost sight of her. When he had been Padma he had always been with Sita. He believed it may have been on the day he had been born that she had found him and gathered him into her delicate and deft hands. He had grown besides her, serenaded every night by her floating voice as she read aloud the old tales. Sita had been a young princess, waiting for her prince. She knew she must work very hard and be kind to all for him to appear.

Padma had become as entranced with her figures of kindly kings and gracious poor girls who performed amazing feats with help from magical mentors whose favor they gained with their muted virtue. Sita was a lonely girl with parents that worked very hard to support her, and she was grateful for her life, but she still longed for that supportive love a prince would provide.

She had often sat him on her windowsill at night so they could look out at the twinkling tapestry of lights that was the great city they lived in. Sita would make up her own stories about the people they saw walking below. The cafe girl who was secretly in love with the son of the thrift store owner, they would one day elope and live in a beautiful place of sunshine and a sparkling ocean. There was the old homeless woman who was secretly an avatar of the goddess Kali and was merely waiting for the right soul to come along to make her blessed champion. To Sita the world had been populated with marvelous dreams waiting to be discovered. How Padma had wished to be the prince, the little bit of magic, which lonely Sita desired to have in her life.

She had been following a dream across a fallen branch that spanned the river, and he had followed her. She had laughed that surely this was the way faeries traveled over the water instead of the ugly bridges that humans made. She had been such a small and delicate girl, but even her light weight had been enough to snap the branch only the ghostly feet of spirits could have crossed. She had fallen in with a cry, and that had been her last gasp against a world not full of dreams but lurking nightmares. Padma could only fall as well and hold onto her writhing and wracked body, unable to do anything else.

The prince had only been drawn to the river by fate. He had never even seen Sita before and only knew her seconds before her death. She may have already been dead by the time the man had dove in after her. Yet he had valiantly tried to save the girl's life even if he had come too late into her story. The magician only noticed his friend had gone missing by the screams of the horrified spectators. By the time Regan had arrived it had already been too late to save the prince or the princess. He could only call to his entourage of spirits and command the bodies be brought to the shore.

It had been at that moment, as Regan had stood on the shores of death, he had noticed poor mourning Padma. The wizard made a quick decision. He ordered the body of Jai Darzi to be cast off, to be made to float many miles downriver, and be mistaken for another man. Next to the cold and pallid corpse of the girl he'd loved, Padma had become Jai Darzi. The corpse that continued to float down the river was no man, forever nameless.

"Please," Jai had gasped when Padma had ceased to exist. "Please, make me into a prince. You're a wizard aren't you? That is what I must be! I cannot let—"

He indicated the body and covered his face as Regan drew him to his new feet.

"My sister needs a prince." Regan informed him gently and Jai looked up at him with hope. The wizard smiled gently. "So you shall be one, for her, for any woman if you like. I will give you that existence."

So he had become the prince in Regan's carefully crafted world. The wizard had allowed his new creation to remain by Sita's side long enough to see the girl cremated and her ashes scattered along the banks where she had played. Her parents had thanked him for his efforts and he had wished them well, they after all had never meant to neglect their daughter. Like her they had been filled with dreams and hadn't stopped to see the delights reality offered. Afterwards he had met his parents and cousins for the very first time.

Regan had given him his life story. What skill he lacked in ignorance Regan made up for with enchantment. Jai could not comprehend the task of compiling numbers, yet the man An Ngo made everyone think he was a skilled member of their enterprise. In time he became sufficient in his own magic that he was able to delude others on his own. His father delighted in his heir, his cousins forecast nothing but fortune.

No one knew there had been two deaths that day. His parents had welcomed him home and had only attributed the discrepancies to mental disquiet after witnessing the death of a young girl. And why shouldn't they? He was a devoted son; he followed after his father in business, and was good to his mother. Why should these kind and good people have to suffer needlessly?

Regan had created a beautiful and shinning world and at the center of it was his sister, its princess. She was a stunning woman, intelligent and strikingly beautiful. She was charming in that despite her education and wealth she still held a certain vulnerability to her that made her approachable. Jai had seen why Regan doted on her like a rare treasure.

While Jai did enjoy Kelly's company and thought highly of her, there had never been quite what for her would have been a rekindling, and for him would have been the first spark. Despite this tepid relationship however Jai had resigned himself to marrying her, as he was meant to. When he had met Matthew he had found himself moved more to pity than jealousy. He had never felt the urge to compete with him as Regan would ensure Kelly's affections.

In fact he had felt no suffering at all until he had met Eddie Moreno.

He would lose everything if he ran away from Regan, his world would shatter, and thus it had been better if Eddie's world had been the one to crumble. It would have crumbled anyway. The nightmares had started again, of drowning, of helplessness, of mud and a great devouring roar. Deep in his heart he had been afraid. He was a hypocrite for asking Eddie to be so brave when at night he had been unable to even sleep. He feared the kelpie would kill Eddie. That one morning she would be nothing more than a twisting of bone and flesh on the earth.

He would protect her. You often had to be cruel to be kind. Regan had taught him this. Eddie was at last separated from the kelpie. She had been saved. The ends justified the means. This was not Sita’s world of shinning morals but Regan’s reality of lies and deceit.

And he would see her in blissful ignorance than fight her.

For his sin, he would also lay his head on the chopping block. Like the kelpie he would never have her. He would take his place as Kelly’s prince. He would treat his bride well and see her every need looked after, while every day he would suffer for what he would never have. It was a fitting punishment for a frog that had tried to be a true prince.

"Who was that?" Jai asked as Regan turned away from the strange old woman who had suddenly walked on and off the stage.

"An old bitch." Regan smiled broadly. Jai blinked and glanced at the scattered funerary party members but none were close enough to hear their conversation. Not that it much mattered, most were here on Regan’s orders anyway. Kelly was glowering at Matthew in some corner as he made pleading gestures at her. Eddie was distantly speaking to the priest by the graveside. They were all involved in hushed and apparently clandestine exchanges. So this malicious exchange would go unheeded. Regan gestured and Jai stiffened but leaned in to listen to his newest order.

"Keep an eye on Eddie would you?" Regan asked lowly. Jai looked up at him in question as to what this exactly meant. Regan beamed. "She's upset and heartbroken. Why don't you help her _forget_?"

Jai nodded stiffly. It was only inevitable. He had chosen to betray her and now could only continue to tear down her reality. It was the promise he had made on the day he had nearly died.

He left Regan and waited until the priest walked away and Eddie was left alone. She turned away from the grave and towards the east side of the basin. Her eyes were narrowed and whatever she saw in the drenched fields beyond the churchyard, only she could see it. Jai gently touched her shoulder and she flinched. She turned around to face him with a small look of apprehension.

"Jai, it's been a while."

"Only a week," he gently reminded her and tried to smile comfortingly at her. She looked away from his earnest expression.

"Only a week." She repeated with a sniff. She looked over his shoulder towards the grave. "It's not long enough to forget is it?"

"Forget what?" Jai asked a little guardedly. Eddie shook her head however. She still trusted him. After all she had no memory of the drink that had plunged her into the darkest depths of her psyche. She rocked back on her heels and fidgeted. Jai's heart sank; did she really feel embarrassed about what had happened between them?

As Eddie hesitated however a sudden yell caught their attention. They both turned in surprise to see Kelly storming away from Matthew, a livid look on her face. Matthew in his turn kicked the ground like a disgruntled and frustrated child. He made eye contact with his stunned sister and stormed off towards the parking lot, obviously intending to wait in the car until his sister was done with her farewells.

Jai sighed, that too was inevitable. After all in Regan's world there was no place for superfluous princes. The wizard had been unable to remove both the kelpie and his sister's fiancé with one fell swoop but the resulting emotional upheaval had brought down walls and weakened barriers. When people were frightened and mourning they were vulnerable. The seeds of discontent grew well in a bed of stress and strain.

"Ah," Eddie gently touched Jai's wrist after she had recovered from her shock. "Could I talk to you for a little while? Alone?"

Jai could only nod. He stepped back as she walked over towards where her brother waited in the parking lot. After informing him of her intentions Matthew frowned, glanced at Jai, but seemed to shrug. He drove away as Eddie walked back over. She motioned for Jai to follow her towards the main road.

As they walked he looked at where her neck flared between the knot of hair on the back of her head and the end of her tartan coat; a livid line of flesh. How often had that monster tasted that delicate skin beneath his tongue and teeth? What right did he even fantasize about running his fingers over that warm incline? As they left behind the rest of the party, and he left vicious reality, she at last spoke.

"I should apologize to you, I think." Jai choked on his words and Eddie looked up at him in consternation. "I honestly…don't remember much about that night. I was very drunk. I remember however basically pouring my heart out to you. And…it's not fair to do that to someone."

"I didn't mind," He could at least say that truthfully. "It was not a bother at all."

"I don't want to lead you on," Eddie countered.

"You didn't, I shouldn't have kissed you." Jai closed his eyes in embarrassment at his own desperate action. "I understand you're not interested and I'm…I'm not in a position to pursue you anyway. I never was."

"Did I get you in trouble with Regan?" she asked concernedly.

"No, not at all," Jai gave a tight smile. If anything Regan had found the entire thing amusing. After all he had used his prince for bait and if Jai had managed to get Eddie to bite his line it was not as if Regan could not take out the hook later.

Eddie looked away for a few minutes to apparently absorb this as they walked on in silence. The rainfall had slowed to a delicate drift of droplets. The landscape had become muted and lovelier in its soft curves and hidden detail. No cloying beauty could conceal outright hideousness however and Jai tensed as after a turn in the road the old church came into view. He had never been to the place personally but he had certainly read the news reports. He paused at the stone wall. The police tape that was laced across the door stood as a vibrant ward. A phantom smell of death floated on the frigid air. The illusion was given life as Jai recalled the wide and gleaming jaws of the kelpie that had nearly crushed his throat as they had Regan’s wrist. Jai's fists curled and he turned towards Eddie in question.

"You were with me that night," she softly reminded him. Her eyes were levelly set at the vivid warning across the door. She raised her chin. "You may know more of the truth than anyone else."

"I was not with you the whole night," He quickly corrected her. She looked up at him and he paused at her woeful expression.

"But only after I had already passed out, right? You put me to bed?" She pressed and Jai shook his head. He stepped back and she caught his wrist. She squeezed it gently in a silent plea. " _Please_ , I have to know what happened! Naoise, I, I…still love him."

Jai stood rigid as Eddie collapsed against him at this miserable confession. Her hand slipped into his as she put her forehead against the top of his arm.

"I have to know whose fault it _really_ was. I am not looking to take the blame off myself." Eddie whispered with her face still hidden in the folds of his coat.

Eddie's world was collapsing, crushed beneath Regan's designs, and she was only grasping at strings that were pulling her even further down.

"Maybe I made the right choice in trusting Regan, but maybe I didn't, and I can't live with that doubt." She continued, not in self-pity, but only disgust. She at last looked up at him with wide eyes and a frowning mouth that became determined and set after she had swallowed.

"Tell me, anything I may have possibly said that may have been twisted around, or could have been an intended order. _Please._ Don't spare me, don't pity me." She told him. Jai raised his face up and closed his eyes in pain.

No, he would make up no story, not invent a fairy tale. The power within him to create a happy ending had died long ago, may have died before it had even been born, and he would not weave more tragedy for this young woman. He looked down and lightly took her chin. He smiled, loving and gentle, like a prince would. Eddie blinked and rolled onto her tip toes, desperate for the truth.

"You didn't do anything." He reassured her. She tensed at the lie but his hand moved to the back of her head, to cradle that soft valley he had gazed upon as she had walked before him with her head held high. His hands were cold, her neck was warm, and she shivered at his touch, yet her eyes still searched his as if the answer was hidden within.

"We had an innocent conversation. It was just a vague statement." He soothed. He knew better than to go into detail and try to force her to believe a blatant lie. He was merely to lay the foundation and Regan would later provide the bricks to soundly beat the memories away with. Enchantments were meant to be layered and the thicker the veil the longer it lasted. Such a light veil however could be easily torn away and even the thickest ones could have unseen tears that allow the truth to burst forth. It was a slow and arduous process for all involved, but if Jai could not be Eddie's prince, he could still protect her all the same.

"What did I say?" Eddie began to tug.

"Nothing important," Jai insisted. He kept his voice level but he tightened his hold as Eddie began to try to step back.

"It is, it is! If it caused-!" She tried to struggle out of his grasp and he was forced to hold on even tighter. He grunted and saw why Regan had had so much trouble and had decided at last to drug her. She would refuse any answer but what she wanted to hear! Unfortunately the truth was the damnation she sought so ardently.

"It wasn’t your fault!" he cried. If he could say nothing else, he could say this! Eddie at last broke away with a cry but he caught her wrist. He didn't mean to cause her to wince in pain at the tightness of his grip but he couldn't let her get away!

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

_I'm saving you from yourself!_ Was the resounding answer on his tongue. He drew his arm in to jerk her close but the motion suddenly disconnected from reality as a thunderous clap resounded in his skull. He felt his hand loosen as his knees weakened. She escaped him with a muted scream. He fell reaching forever for that one thing he had not been able to hold onto.

_I'm sorry Sita._

#

Eddie gasped at the sight of a fallen prince at her feet. She raised her head and found a gasping Sarah besides her. The young woman was still hunched over the wall over which she had thrown her punch. It had been a perfect right hook at Jai's temple. Sarah swallowed and righted herself.

"Right. Better check his pulse." She said slowly as she began to move around the wall. As reality fell back to earth after being suspended by shock Eddie fell to her knees besides the unconscious man.

"You don't think you killed him?" Eddie asked with a small cry.

"Ah, no. If anything he nearly broke my wrist on his hard head." Sarah sniffed as she rubbed her knuckles. Eddie sighed in relief as her friend's prediction proved true; Jai's pulse was still strong in his neck.

"I'll admit we were spyin' on you," Eddie looked up to see a slightly apologetic Stan standing off to the side. "But only because I was concerned. I saw Darzi was real snug with Regan before he came up to you."

"I thought," Eddie grimaced at her conceit. "I thought maybe I could get him to tell me the truth. He's helped me before and he…"

She had thought maybe he had been in love with her a little. Well, she had certainly just learned otherwise! Eddie rubbed her temples in frustration.

"I'm an ass." She admitted and Stan nodded. Sarah rolled her eyes up and gave a small sigh.

"Well you at least got the best evidence ever there's a cover-up going on." She softly snorted and Eddie blinked as she realized this was the truth.

“Look for a piece of jewelry.” The voice was disembodied and centered high up. Eddie recognized it however.

“Yusuf?”

The jinn unfurled his human form in a lick of flames. For the first time he exposed his cloven feet as he perched in the cottonwood trees across the way. He gave a sigh but smiled all the same.

“My mistress didn’t like to let me loose, but she believes I would have an easier time speaking to you.”

Eddie returned the smile; it was perilous and fragile.

“Yusuf, please, please,” she passed around the wall and across the way to stand at the foot of his tree. “What did Naoise say that night?”

“That he was trying to save your brother’s life.” Yusuf looked down at her with a woeful expression, his mouth down turned in pity. “There were two men born with a dead twin and that was who he had been sent to kill. It was either Matthew or MacGregor. Ulysses…let Naoise kill him.”

“What?” Eddie felt her heart shudder as a door violently slammed open. She laid a hand on her chest in pain though the bridle had long since been cut out of her.

_Naoise did you really--?!_ She gasped as a fire burned in her chest, one of shame and regret. She wrenched as it moved into her throat, searing her in fright. The possibility remained Naoise had tricked MacGregor. Regan may be trying to hide something, but Jai had also told her it would be better if she lost her memories. Is that what Regan wanted? Was that his way of saving her? Hala had tried to condemn her to Faerie to save her. Naoise by nature was a being of malice and tricks.

It was all too terrifying. It was too much for a person to bear! She leaned against the tree as she covered her face. And why would MacGregor give his life? Had he been so guilt ridden or had he found Naoise sincere? Yusuf leaned down and touched a hand to her head.

“You must be as strong as you can be, to find it within yourself to complete this quest,” he told her gently. “Few humans can withstand this sort of agony, Eddie, and I fear for you. But I know you will have no peace until the truth is known to you.”

Eddie swallowed, “and I need help.”

“Hey! He’s got a necklace on!” Stan’s voice suddenly bounded across the way. Eddie looked up and rejoined Sarah in kneeling next to Jai’s prone body. On a silver chain a bauble floated above Jai’s chest.

“Shatter it.” The jinn floated over to stand atop the wall. “It is where his magic is centered.”

“Will it hurt him?” Eddie asked.

“It will do him no more harm than whatever blow to his pride may occur for being exposed for what he actually is.” Yusuf sat down and leaned towards Eddie. “It’s why you were given that ring, to protect you from him.”

“Dougal, he…” Eddie put a hand to her mouth. It only made sense then Regan’s familiar had stolen it. Why had Rhona kept it then? It surely had not been out of loyalty to her former master. And Dougal, back then, had he also meant for her to be a bride? Was that why he had asked for mercy towards his brother, yet excused her possible actions? That was why Naoise had warned her about him! A dozen hopes and fears had all been attached to the ring of one dead woman.

She took the necklace off Jai’s neck and twisted her wrist to make it spin upon its chain. When it had reached enough momentum she slammed it against the stone wall. The crystal totally shattered on the blow and Jai Darzi ceased to exist.

Eddie gave a small cry when she noticed the vacant space but her eyes still fell on a small frog in the mud. She scooped up the creature. As she held the small frog in her palm its bulbous eyes slowly opened. Eddie had never known a frog could articulate a look of despair.

"And there is your prince!" Yusuf sighed as Eddie looked down in shock.

"What? Are you saying he was a fucking frog all along?" Sarah demanded and Yusuf nodded.

"The frog prince," Stan observed and somehow with no trace of irony in his tone. Eddie merely sat back in surprise as she stared down at the cold and defenseless frog in her hands, unbelieving this was the man who had just stood before her.

"Regan has such power…?" she muttered. If Regan had as much power as to make a frog into a prince, could he not also be powerful to even twist words around like he had accused Naoise of doing?

"Not on his own." Yusuf countered sternly. "The frog must have desired to become what he is. Magic however can make anything possible so long as there is the desire and belief."

Eddie was at a loss for words but Sarah was not.

"Isn't this just a fucking piss? The Wizard of Bullshit can make his own little magical kingdom can he?" She snorted and the jinn only shrugged at her.

"I'm sorry," Eddie at last said to the frog that looked up at her in something that looked like surprise. "This was cruel wasn't it? And I understand now why you were so afraid. I'll keep watch over you though, and I won't forget about what I did to you."

After all this time, his true form was what had been holding Jai back. She could understand how he could be ashamed of being such a small and vulnerable creature when he desired to be a strong man. Now he couldn’t even speak to her, though he seemed very aware. She wondered if perhaps too much time had passed the frog would forget all about his human life, as she may have her time with Naoise. Yet for him to have as powerful a wish as to become something he was not there must have been something he too didn’t want to forget.

They had been alike in their desire all along, but one had chosen lies over the truth.

"He's cute at least," Stan decided as he patted the frog's head with a gentle finger. The amphibian gave what sounded like an irritated croak. He suddenly leapt onto Eddie's breast and disappeared into a pocket, apparently unwilling to be pitied. Eddie sighed and decided to just let Jai the Frog remain there for now as she had even more pressing concerns.

"This isn't what Regan wanted to hide though," Eddie indicated her clandestine coat pocket. "It has to be about Naoise. It's one thing if he didn't want me to keep these memories because he thought they hurt me too much but to not even allow me to ask about that night…"

She raised her hands to her temples as something like a door began to tremble in her heart, threatening to swing open with a painful thud. "Then what did Naoise do, that Regan would try to hide it?"

"The question is probably more, what did _Regan_ do?" Sarah corrected. Eddie hunched over, trying to reach into herself, trying to draw up again the truth from those dark and deep depths.

And she knew only one thing.

“I cannot do this alone.” She stood up and looked into Yusuf’s eyes. “I can’t beat Regan at his own game without any guidance. I need someone who really understands magic.”

“My mistress, and I, are sworn to protect the vulnerable,” Yusuf gently reminded her.

“Yeah, I know,” Eddie sighed. There were just differing opinions on what “protection” meant. Now that she was initiated, so to speak, however, Eddie should be able to stand more equally to the wise woman. She turned towards her friends.

“I’m going with Yusuf. I…don’t know when I’ll be back. Or what’s going to happen.” She winced, she hated how her words carried the echo of “farewell”. She bit her lip. It reminded her to much of the speech she had composed a hundred times in her head, what she would say when she left the earth. It would be a note, the words too painful and inadequate to ever be spoken aloud.

“I’m so grateful for everything you two did. I…would have never gotten this far without you.” Eddie’s smile trembled and Sarah caught her before she fell.

“Oh, you think you’re getting rid of us?” Sarah’s smile replaced Eddie’s as her expression turned to one of surprise. “I’m going to see this through to the end. I love you, and it’s my problem too now. I dream of what happened that night at the party nearly every night. I can’t….just forget about it. I know about the spirits too now.”

She gently ducked Eddie’s chin. “I’m not the same person anymore, either.”

“And…” Sarah glanced over her shoulder at Stan. “I can’t speak for him, but he has his own stake in this as well.”

“Dougal asked me to protect you.” Stan informed her softly. “And I will do it.”

And Eddie would not ask if this was because of a need to see this to the end as well, some sort of duty, or attachment to the kelpie. Perhaps it was all of it, and it would all come to the same end.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she repeated. “Please, it may be very dangerous.”

“We both have our own reasons for going,” Sarah gently reminded her. She grinned, “You’re stuck with us.”

“Okay.” She wiped her eyes and turned towards Yusuf. “Take us to Mrs. Nejem then.”

And they were away as a speeding star across the spring sky.

#

Matthew looked up at what sounded like a passing whirlwind outside. The air should be too damp for a wind that raked up the ground, but anything was possible. The man rubbed his eyes as he pulled himself off the couch and looked out the front window. Eddie was back earlier than he'd expected, and she'd brought Sarah along, not entirely unexpected, but Matthew could not have predicted she also invite an old woman he'd never seen before. He sighed softly and turned to go hide the beer he had in his hand.

As a rule Eddie and he didn't keep alcohol in the backhouse. Matthew also tried to avoid drinking at home when his sister was there. He had expected to be alone for a few hours however as his sister attended the wake and apparently with Jai Darzi. To ease his stress and anxiety he'd picked up a single bottle on his way back to the home. He had been mentally preparing for how to break the news to Eddie they were to leave the basin. That he was concerned about her and wanted her to go back into therapy. That he was ready to start over.

Oh, he still loved Kelly. He felt he would always love her. She would be a smoldering ember forever upon his heart. Suddenly however the flame had been smothered. He sensed that attempting to burden her with his own set of familial problems when she was struggling against her own was the straw that broke the ubiquitous back of the abused camel. That she had reacted in anger to his news had cast doubt in his mind that she was the one for him. He had been afraid and anxious these past few weeks and to have her suddenly snap at him was a cruel wake up call. He knew she hadn't meant to be so harsh with him, that she would surely apologize later, but the fire had been quelled.

Matthew had hoped Kelly would be a support he could lean on in this time of need but he could see that perhaps he'd judged wrongly. It was unfortunate that so much tragedy had suddenly befallen them both but perhaps this was all for a reason. If they could not stand united now, they would not be able to later.

And Matthew was unwilling to risk his sister's health and happiness for his own.

So he would see in a few weeks, after things had hopefully calmed down, how she felt then. Perhaps this time apart would make them both realize what was truly important to them, and it would all be for the better, whatever the answer turned out to be. It was strange how quickly things could fall apart, and Matthew had guilty thoughts that if perhaps he had paid more attention, had not been so selfish, he may have seen the cracks and been able to fix them. As it was however he could not feasibly direct all his attention to Kelly with Eddie needing him and it would always be this way. Perhaps he could not have someone who was just as dedicated to her family as he was his though this had previously been the basis of their bond.

He put the beer in his room and rinsed with mouthwash before walking back into the parlor to greet his sister and her guests. He was a little glad to be able to delay the news for perhaps a few hours and maybe with Eddie in a good mood. She had improved since she had announced she would be going for a walk yesterday. Perhaps his sister had indeed found more healthy outlets for her depression and anxiety. She would surely need it in these coming months.

"Hey," he said to Sarah and the old woman as they walked in. The old woman gave him a measuring look that made Matthew rock back a little on his heels but Sarah's apprehensive look made him even more nervous. Why did he suddenly feel like he had walked in on a crime? Eddie came in last and flew to embrace him. He stepped back in surprise and had a sinking feeling something else had just happened.

"Matthew, I…" Eddie looked up at him earnestly with wide eyes. She suddenly stepped back however and reached into her breast pocket to pull out a frog. "Wait, do we have something to put him in?"

"Yeah, that fish bowl in the living room." That had been standing empty since the previous owner had died about six months ago one cold winter day. He raised an eyebrow as his sister slipped past. Nevertheless he had a feeling that was not what the excitement was about.

"You are her older brother?" The older woman asked as Sarah shuffled around the kitchen, apparently trying to locate coffee mugs.

"I am," he smiled. He wished she would stop staring at him like she was expecting him to grow a second head.

"And you know about spirits too?" she asked and Sarah stopped to look up in horror. Matthew uneasily shifted, wondering what exactly in the hell was going on.

"I…I guess? Sprites and La Llorona and fairies?" he answered with a small smile.

"I can see you don't know a thing," the woman deadpanned. Matthew bristled at that, _well what did you want me to say?_

"This is Hala Nejem Matthew," Sarah informed him helpfully as she began filling the coffee maker. Had Eddie invited over a large party for some unconceivable reason?

"Do you really think we'll have time for coffee?" The woman apparently named Hala Nejem asked Sarah.

"Coffee takes three minutes in the maker and Stan won't be here that quick even with Dougal," Sarah answered.

_Stan? That kid that works at the café and Naoise's brother?_ Matthew felt certain he hadn't seen either of the brothers at the funereal, much to his relief. For the one thing Eddie _didn't_ need was that smarmy bastard coming back into her life. He could tolerate Dougal however as he actually had some _charm_ about him. It was unfortunate he was apparently the gay one of the identical pair and thus did Eddie no good. Still he had a refreshingly different personality from his brooding and tactless brother. Perhaps he would even lighten up what had been an emotionally exhausting week.

Eddie walked back in with her inexplicable new frog in a bowl in her arms. She gently set it down on the kitchen table as if the frog needed to be part of the company. Matthew shrugged however and walked over to inspect her new pet. The frog sat upon a large rock in the bowl and seemed to almost be pouting _._

"Ah, can we talk privately, please?" Eddie asked softly. Matthew nodded and she excused them to their guests. He knew something must be on her mind after all. Eddie chose her bedroom.

"I don't want to go back to Orange County, or at least not yet," was how she broached the very delicate topic he had been musing over all day with far less finesse than what he would have hoped to.

"You know…" was the first stunned reply he could give.

"I didn't mean to hear, I was going to talk to you about something else, but I overheard you and Aunt Luz." She explained with averted eyes. She looked back up at him however as she continued. "I know everything is fucked-up right now, but there’s a reason for it. And, Matthew, we need to be _here_ for people."

"Eddie," Matthew shook his head and gently laid his hands on her shoulders. "Don't worry about it, all right? Just let me handle everything."

"I've let you handle everything for me Matthew, ever since I was a little girl." It was not bitter but it was a reproach, however not one necessarily aimed at him. "You've protected me, looked out for me, and at your own expense. You're thinking about giving up Kelly for me, aren't you?"

Matthew stepped back at this revelation. It was the first time he had heard it directly but he knew it had been that gnawing thought in the back of his head. He also knew it was true.

"Don't worry about what's between me and…"

"I don't want you to give her up!" Eddie suddenly cried out at him and Matthew tensed in surprise. Eddie shook her head vehemently and wrapped her arms around herself. "Do something for yourself, god damn it! Why should you sacrifice so much for others?"

"That's enough!" Matthew was surprised by the anger in his voice. He quickly tried to reel in his temper, uncertain why he felt so attacked. He exhaled and tried to speak more calmly. "Eddie. I am an adult man and I'm your brother. And I'm worried about you. I think staying at Abuela’s for a while be good for you. You don't need to worry about me."

"But I do worry. I wanted you to be happy so much I gave up my very life." Matthew gave her a confused and apprehensive look, unsure what she exactly meant by this. Eddie didn't elaborate and only continued after a few seconds of a pained expression.

"We're so alike, isn't it obvious that we both need someone else in our lives? It's bad to be this dependent!" she gave a small laugh that threatened to collapse into a sob. Matthew stepped forward and held her shoulders again.

"I'm in love with Naoise." She finally told him and he felt his heart plummet. _Is this why you want to stay here so badly?_ Why hadn't he punched Naoise Burne's face in when he'd had the chance?

"And he needs me, just like Kelly needs you." She looked up at him with a tight smile.

"You're an adult woman and I can't make you come with me," Matthew had to admit through gritted teeth. "But, listen to yourself! Stay here for a man? And not a very good one either! That's not like you!"

"It’s not because I want to stay with him. I need to _save_ him." She stepped out of his embrace with a shake of her head. She narrowed her eyes even as her mouth quivered in distress.

"I cannot make you stay either. I can’t make you fight for Kelly. All I can do is ask if you love her enough to come with me." Before Matthew could ask what she meant by this there was a sudden rush of footfall down the hall.

"Eddie! Eddie! Dougal can't come into the house!" Stan cried through the door. Before Matthew could react his sister was out the door and running down the hall after her co-worker.

"Dougal! Come in! You are invited in!" Eddie cried out. Matthew stepped into the hall and Dougal suddenly fell through the front door at the other end. The man collapsed on the ground and gasped for breath. Eddie hovered over him as Stan, who looked like he had just been dunked in a river, tried to help him to stand.

"That was no small skittle." Dougal groaned as he slowly stood up. He lifted a hand from his side, revealing a vibrant red slash across it. "Eh…damned sprites."

"Sit down," Eddie ordered as Matthew walked up.

"Regan is going to wake up with his head between my teeth if he thinks he can have me attacked." Dougal spat out as he fell into a chair. He smiled however when he spied Matthew. "Och, and I think Matty-lad has about as much idea as I do about what's going on."

"Regan is covering up whatever happened the night MacGregor was killed," Eddie suddenly explained but for Matthew it threw light on nothing. "I'm certain of it. He tried to have Jai Darzi erase my memories from that night."

"Oh?" Dougal looked at the frog. "And there he is! Well at least you finally get to see him as he actually is."

He laughed as Eddie blushed. Dougal stopped however with a grimace at the apparent pain in his side. Eddie grabbed a dish towel to press into his side and asked Sarah to fetch a bandage. Dougal shook his head however.

"Don't fret lass. It'll heal the next time I slip into some water. It has to be something much more serious to slow me down." He looked up at Eddie with an almost wry smirk. “The reason why Naoise didn’t heal was because of that bridle.”

"What happened to you?" Matthew asked as Eddie fell back, not bothering with whatever they were going on about the frog before. Dougal glanced at Eddie in question. She nodded as she replaced Dougal's hand with the towel.

"Attacked. Our Regan MacGregor is angry his prince was exposed. We have a hostage now, see? So he would warn me away from helping. That presumptive brat!”

"You mean Regan Seele attacked you?”

“Not he himself, his spirits.”

“Spirits.” Matthew glanced at Hala. “Like fairies and goblins?”

"Exactly," Dougal nodded and Matthew scoffed.

"And why would he? How could he?"

"Because I imagine your Eddie has found cause to save my brother, am I right?" he looked at her expectantly.

"MacGregor died because the order could have had one of two victims, him or," Eddie looked at Matthew. He raised his eyebrows at her agonized expression. She finally gave the other name however. "Matthew, my brother."

She looked back at Dougal. "Naoise killed Mr. MacGregor so he could save Matthew. And Regan is responsible for it I think."

"What?" was all Matthew could say to such an extraordinarily ridiculous statement. Naoise Burne save his life? By killing Kelly and Regan’s cousin? And Regan would have cause to hide this? He looked on in wretched confusion as Dougal smiled and gently took Eddie's hand.

"And _that_ is just cause to free my brother."

"This is some sort of sick joke!' Matthew snapped. And he was furious his sister had somehow been swept up into it! "If Naoise Burne has killed someone he should be turned over to the police right this instant!"

"La, he's rotting away in the cavern at Los Olivos at this very moment I'm sure," Nejem suddenly opined from her end of the table. "Who you know as Naoise Burne is _already_ in custody. What we're debating is if he's the one who was truly responsible for the death."

"And you're saying Regan Seele _is_?" Matthew demanded in outrage.

"He's been very suspicious," Stan suddenly chimed in from where he stood by the counter with Sarah as he used a bathroom towel to dry his hair at least.

"He has a whole host of spirits outside for one thing," Nejem added. Matthew moved to a window and scowled at the view of the flock of Mindy's geese cutting a waddling line across the mud.

"I don't see anything."

"Well of course not." Nejem sighed and Matthew glowered at her. "Spirits cannot be seen by normal humans unless they want to be."

As Matthew choked on his anger Nejem turned to Dougal. “Take off your glamour for a few seconds, would you?"

Matthew leapt back when the chair suddenly emptied. Dougal's ghostly laugh hung upon the air until he suddenly reappeared next to Stan.

"Such a face he makes!" he exclaimed in glee as Matthew fell back against the counter in his shock.

"This has to be some sort of trick," Matthew muttered as he struggled against what he had just seen. _Or a dream._ Matthew covered his face with his hands as his world turned upside down.

"Whatever you like to think lad as we don't really have time to explain. Eddie insisted we come here for you because she doesn’t want your memories altered any more than they already are.”

Matthew glanced at his sister who slowly nodded. She held up one finger. “I promise I’ll explain it all Matt, but right now we need two things. One, to protect our memories so we can fight at all. It’s why I asked for Dougal to be with us. He cannot be enchanted as such by Regan, and plus, he’s already indicated to me before he wants to protect his brother.”

Eddie held up another finger, “and two, Rhona.”

“Regan’s ex-girlfriend?” Matthew asked. It was almost sardonic that in the mist of whatever prank was occurring, his sister had apparently found all her strength. She was coolly cunning, it was a kind of viciousness he had never seen in her before. And he was not certain if to take pride in it or shake it out of her.

"Yes. I want to find her. She would know Regan best of all and know how to get a confession out of him." Eddie answered. She narrowed her eyes, "If he loved her as I do Naoise, it won't matter to him whatever harm she caused him.”

Matthew felt his heart jump into his throat in apprehension.

"We can try the beach by my home. Selkies are all sons and daughters of the ocean," Nejem informed them. She turned towards Dougal. "If he goes by the pipes not even a water spirit will be able to easily follow us."

"Och, though it will not be dangerous for me it may be for you lot. Sure I may be caught for a while but it is _you_ who will be in danger of suffocation or starvation if I pick the wrong pipe and end up without water-flow for however long." Dougal explained with such perfect insouciance Matthew was impressed and on the verge of believing him just because of how cavalier he was on the subject of traveling along underground water pipes.

"I'll risk it," Eddie said readily and looked up. "But I won't ask anyone else to if they don’t want to."

"So will we," Sarah grasped Stan about the neck. Stan pushed away and looked at Dougal.

“If we can’t trust you in this, what can we?” he frowned at the other man who just grinned at him.

"The more help, the better." Nejem mused as she stood up. "I'll send Yusuf through the window then as a distraction. Stan, go turn on the water in a bath tub."

The young man went to do this and Nejem moved towards the window with a cobalt bottle drawn. Sarah trotted off to loot the bedrooms for some changes of clothes and shoes. Matthew cornered his sister.

"Eddie," he gave an exasperated moan. Murder, pipes, distractions, what--? Were they having some sort of fucking magic _war_ he couldn't comprehend at all? Eddie smiled at him in an attempt to soothe him. Nevertheless he only felt dread at the look of determination in her eyes.

"Matthew if you come with me, I promise I will explain everything to you later, and even if you don't. If you go back to Orange County however I can’t show you what sort of world Kelly truly belongs to, that I belong to too now. You are free to run away and never have to see what you're about to. You can forget all about Kelly. I'll join you eventually if you do, but I am not going to run away now."

She offered her hand to him. He wanted to argue against the insanity of it all. He wanted to rail against the madness of diving in without looking. To warn of the absurdity of leaping into an abyss that had no visible end. Was he just to lay back and let irrationality trample all over sense? Why should he not simply drag her back to reason kicking and screaming?

He took her hand however and let her lead him down.

She drew him towards the bath tub where a black horse stood. He was told this was Dougal and he accepted it. He accepted the frog in the fish bowl Eddie was insisting on bringing along despite Sarah's protests was Jai Darzi. He didn't question why four people could fit upon the back of a horse that could stand comfortably in a bath tub. He ignored Hala Nejem announcing she had just released a jinn through their front window. He gave himself overly entirely to the throbbing madness around him.

For this was the insanity of love.

Despite his hurt and disappointment, he knew he still loved Kelly, and would always love her. If Eddie could tell him how to mend this tear, perhaps how to take away her unhappiness, then he would follow along this maddening path. His sister had given him the challenge to not put her first but his own desires. It was obvious she intended to do the same. For the first time they would look beyond one another for the entirety of their world.

The old world was wrenched away by the twisting of pipes and the roar of surging water. They floated bodiless in the great divide between reality and dream. The new world waited unseen, shinning with terror and possibilities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in a month? This is the best I've done in nearly a year. But keep up that feedback boys, girls, and others, god knows when my health will turn again.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelly awakes from her dream. We meet Hala's family, the Aziza, and Yusuf's collection of fine cats. Matthew learns it all and makes his decision to stand by his sister or abandon her to her madness. The selkie returns from the sea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for non-con vibes. Rhona and Regan's relationship is already squicky but this is when I show the sexual side of their relationship from Rhona's POV so...yeah. Just a warning it may stir uncomfortable feelings.

Kelly was sitting before a window. It looked out onto Los Olivos from her bedroom on the second story. With her hands folded in her lap she perched upon a velvet backed chair and looked out onto the pine forest. A small turn of her head to the left would have her looking where she dreaded, west, towards the lake and where Matthew had lived. She would also be looking towards the ocean, as Rhona had often done. The woman had sat for hours in a stolid silence, looking towards the waterway as if it was a gateway to a different world.

She had become so angry when Matthew had decided to take his sister from this cursed place. She knew why she had reacted so in her loathsome depths, because he had chosen to save Eddie and not her. She could never express such a selfish desire and was ashamed to her core by it. Distressingly Matthew had not answered his phone in the hours after their fight and as the sun flooded the basin floor Kelly was uncertain if she had the strength to try again. He could already be on the freeway. He could also be so disgusted with her he had decided to abruptly cut off all ties. She would deserve such a thing.

Had Eddie been nothing but kind to her? The young woman was very attached to her older brother and could have easily chosen to be jealous and resentful. Yet she had instead been welcoming and supportive. Did she not also know about Eddie's history with depression and alcoholism? The young woman had suffered a terrible shock. She should have only been supportive of Matthew removing his younger sister from a bad situation. And yet Kelly felt jealous in response! Something had cried out within her; _why is there no one who will do this for me?_ It was such a terrible thing to think! Eddie had even given her the bracelet Kelly still wore on her wrist. The woman's fingers slid down to the beads.

The bracelet had inspired an engulfing dream the night before.

In this dream she had been walking to the cavern that existed beneath the home. As a child she had always been forbidden to go down there by her mother. The woman had warned about a spring little girls may drown in, and monsters that would eat them. Later it had been Regan that had warned her away, citing that he didn't think the walls were stable enough and he feared an eventual collapse. She could not recall why in her dream she had felt an urge to descend into the darkness. She remembered vaguely that she had felt like something was crying out to her. She had looked down and had had the distinct thought of; _something is calling for me._ Had she perhaps hoped it would be Matthew, the only person the bracelet turned purple for?

Yet the beads had retained their dull, glassy surfaces as she had walked down into the damp interior of the cavern. She had had some light source, a flashlight or even perhaps a candlestick. The light had not been enough to fill the monumental darkness, only pierce it slightly and it refilled the void behind instantly. She came to the edge of a spring with gently swirling waters. The air was pungent with the smell of mineral; it almost suffocated. She raised her light up and caught a glimpse of something monstrous by the wall across. She gasped and flinched but when her hand had steadied to lift up the light again to get a better look at the beast, she found a man instead.

It was a younger man, bound in iron and laying on the cavern floor. He looked weak and somehow frustrated in the resentful curl of his body. As Kelly slowly moved towards him she realized by his dark hair and long slender body this was Naoise Burne, Eddie's former boyfriend. His dark eyes were open and watching her warily, rather like a cautious horse did with his wide and unblinking eyes. Yet as she stood before him he suddenly let out an amused sigh. She fell to her knees as she realized he had a prominent cut on his cheek and bruises where the iron touched his skin.

"Don't touch me," he warned. She drew her hand back. "You cannot heal me, only water would."

He looked towards the spring and Kelly could follow his line of thought from some forgotten place within herself. She set down her light and scooped water into her hands. Carrying the liquid in her palms she kneeled before him and let him drink from her hands. He did so greedily and when he was done let himself fall back onto the floor. To her amazement the wound healed and the bruises faded. She knew however if he remained chained his skin would bruise again and after not too long they would open into sores.

"You have to get out of here," she breathed. Naoise gave her a look of bitter and incredulous amusement.

"I do indeed, but you cannot be the one to free me." He shook his head. "Och, but you are a kind one aren't you? Like her."

"Eddie?" Kelly asked and Naoise closed his eyes.

"Aye."

"Can she free you?" Naoise paused but kept his face turned away, as if he wished to hide his expression for a few seconds. He looked up with a blank face however.

"It matters not; I think that lass is already gone."

"They've gone home, they've both gone home," Kelly agreed. Naoise didn't answer and only looked up at her for a few seconds. He narrowed his eyes in recognition.

"You're Regan's younger sister, Lorna’s daughter."

"My name is Kelly."

"Aye. Kelly, if you come down here every day and give me a bit of water like you did, I will grant you a wish." The man informed her. Kelly blinked at the possibility.

"What do you mean?"

"I will show you. I will start by telling you how to regain yourself. Pull out the pendant around your neck." Kelly did so and revealed the small crystal Regan had given her to comfort her after their mother's death. "Shatter it."

"What?"

"Shatter it, if you wish to regain yourself," he told her stalwartly. He gave her a sly grin. "All the answers you seek will be found if you shatter that pendant."

Kelly sat back, her finger tips tracing the oblong design of the crystal's setting. "What, what do you mean?"

Naoise didn't answer however as they both raised their heads at the sound of hurried footfall approaching and a distant light.

"Shatter it! Shatter it!" Naoise hissed as he tried to urge her. He struggled to raise a hand, grunting in his exertion. She reached for it only to have his grasping hand suddenly kicked away.

"Kelly!" Regan bellowed from above. He was suddenly dragging her away from Naoise. Naoise raised his head as if to say something but he only gave a hoarse groan. He recoiled like something had just viciously kicked him in the gut. The cavern was empty however save the three of them.

"Stop, wait!" Kelly turned back towards Regan. "We have to save him!"

"He's being punished for a murder! No, two!" Regan informed her harshly. Kelly stood stunned. Regan closed his eyes in pain. "It's his fault our mother died."

"What?" Kelly stumbled but followed Regan when he caught her and began to pull her away again.

“How did he…?” He looked her up and down, his eyes fell to the bracelet, and then back up to the crystal.

“Regan?” Kelly asked. “He said to shatter—“

"Just forget about it! Just forget!" Regan urged, taking a fistful of her hair to force her to look up at him. Kelly screamed in pain and all was suddenly silent and still.

She had awakened in a cold sweat in her bed. She had sat in the darkness and flinched when the clock had struck three in the morning. She had laid back and wept softly for a reason she could not discern. It had been a terrible and upsetting dream. Yet she had replayed it in her head all morning though each time it lost more detail and became fainter. Only that terrible fear haunted her across the great divide between sleep and wakefulness. Even in the secure embrace of reality it made her heart race, the back of her neck prickle, and stole her breath. It made her to afraid to look any way but forward upon a narrow path where she was terrified even the smallest wrong step would cause her to fall.

Had that empty feeling she had so long held within herself actually been this overwhelming fear?

As Kelly struggled internally from behind her bedroom door a cloying strand of music reminded her that she was still awake. She raised her hands in wonder as she looked back, finally forgetting the bleak vista before her. She sighed; her younger sister was practicing for her recital on Monday. They had been joining Kelly and Regan on the weekends since Regan’s indisposition. Glad for the distraction she followed the soft melody of one of Chopin's pieces to the ballroom.

Gwen sat before her mother's dying lilies and irises in elegant Japanese vases painted with cobalt peacocks and turquoise sparrows. The lady of the house had ordered the flowers to adorn the piano as much as her daughter’s playing. The grace of Gwen's playing however needed no help from the lurid floral arrangements.

The girl operated as an avatar for the genius of the composer, giving his music a flawless vehicle to ride upon to the ears of the audience. She was a champion of the art and performed beautifully. It only seemed to be with piano keys beneath her fingers that Gwen truly smiled, that all of her high walls eroded to reveal the vulnerable yet confident and unassailable young woman she could truly be. Her skill had already earned her scholarships, awards, and accolades. Nevertheless the girl ultimately lacked true artistic poise. She was far too practical for the capricious and irrational world of art and had already decided she would follow her mother by studying law. She was a lovely instrument but she was not a muse.

Kelly hoped to sit and listen, especially as she knew she would be unable to attend the concert, like Regan. Gwen stopped however when she heard the door open. She glanced over her shoulder as Kelly sat upon a windowsill self-consciously.

"I thought you had been called out," she told Kelly. "You didn't go to breakfast with us this morning."

"Oh, no, I was just…very tired." Kelly sighed.

"Mom says Matthew Moreno is gone," Gwen informed her. Kelly merely grimaced. "Has he gone back to Orange County with his sister?"

"I think so," was all Kelly could say for sure. She looked down at her engagement ring. An heirloom from the mother he rarely spoke about. Was she really bitter enough to think it had no value to him? Or was it just one last gift?

"Everyone is just leaving aren't they?" Gwen said irritably. Kelly gave her a questioning look. "Well is it not true? He just left without even a good-bye?"

"He said good-bye." Kelly assured her, she just hadn't wished to take it.

"But he still ran away like Mom thought he would eventually!" Gwen insisted. "Everyone runs away."

"Gwen! Why are you saying such a thing?" Kelly cried in surprise more than outright offense. The girl, like most teenagers, could be quite cynical and acidic at times but this was going a bit far. As far as Kelly could tell her stepmother had slowly become more accepting of the Morenos, the snide remarks about mariachis and tacos at the wedding had faded into cessation over the past few weeks. Matthew had proven himself to be polite and dependable and even Eddie had won favor by formally apologizing for her remarks about Katharine's late husband.

It was just as everything had seemed to be coming together that it had been ripped apart.

"Would you believe Sarah McAllister has run off with Stan Ngo?" Kelly blinked in surprise and Gwen nodded sternly. “It was all over facebook last night apparently! They both have missing persons reports out for them but it’s clear to anyone they left together.”

Kelly closed her eyes, very grateful that she had missed the rumor mill going around. "I’m sure there’s some reason…”

"She didn’t even tell me she was leaving!" Gwen snapped and slammed down the key cover for added emphasis. Kelly jumped at the clattering noise. “She just left me! I had to message her brother on facebook to even know!”

"Do you, like her that much?" Kelly asked in breathless surprise. Gwen hesitated, looking towards the open door. Kelly took the hint and softly closed it. She walked back over and sat on the bench.

“I would like to think I didn’t.” Gwen looked at the lilies before her. ”But now I know otherwise.”

She closed her eyes, “Why does it have to be her, after all this time?”

She sighed and opened her eyes. She looked down at her fingers and struck a lonely key.

"I think…I've always hoped I would meet someone extraordinary. Someone who could make the world beautiful. Someone who could make things less drab. Naoise Burne is so beautiful, dark and mysterious, so unlike anything else I'd ever seen; I wanted him to be that person. I felt he must be."

She closed her fists and drew them to her breast in a motion of need and desire. Kelly was amazed such a modest and prim girl had always harbored this inner world of fantasy.

"But I found he was like anyone else; not for me. He was actually quite rude and a terrible dancer I think. Oh! Only Eddie Moreno _would_ be happy to be lead about by him when she dances just as terribly!" Kelly couldn't help but to give a small laugh at the unkind but not untruthful description.

"Gwen, that's not nice." She reproached if only to lessen the guilt for her own reaction.

"The truth is never nice." Gwen countered with a sigh. "I had hoped she was that person, as much as I didn’t want her to be. She doesn’t care about me at all.”

She snorted, “Why should I be more important than a boy?"

"You may find the truth is not as simple as it may seem," Kelly soothed laying a hand on Gwen's wrist. "There may be more going on then there may first appear."

"Hmph. After all, who elopes nowadays anyway? She probably just escaped." Gwen looked down at Kelly's hand and slid it down to hold in her own. She squeezed it gently. "All my life I wished to be saved but now I see I must do it for myself, because you can only depend on yourself. You'll only be disappointed otherwise."

Her hand fell away to the key cover which she pulled up. She paused before starting to play again.

"Please don't tell Mom about any of this. If she knew I was dating Sarah McAllister, or any girl, she would have a fit." Gwen asked softly and Kelly nodded. She was mollified Gwen had decided to open up to her but apparently hanging on to her hurt would have choked her otherwise. Kelly sat in silence as the girl began to play again.

_All my life I have wished to be saved._ Kelly looked down at her bracelet. It was still firmly clasped around her wrist. She closed her eyes. _If I wished to be saved, I must save myself._

She raised her head up as she suddenly felt the beckoning from her dream soak into reality and flow towards her. She stood and drifted away from her younger sister's ecstatic notes to the deafening roar of guile. She walked like a woman traveling in an isolated and singular vision. She heard nothing but that distant call that was like water flowing over rocks or the barriers of reality. She saw nothing, felt nothing. She was only aware of the command; _shatter it. Shatter it. SHATTER IT._

_I must save myself._ She paused as she stood before the heavy wooden door that opened to the cavern below. She swallowed and covered the glass beads with the palm of her right hand. She hesitated on the precarious threshold and paused before taking the step to fall down, down, down.

_But is this the self that I wish to save?_

She reeled back with a cry as reality shattered the surface of the waters of enchantment. The woman gasped and grasped the crystal firmly into her palm. Her entire body contorted to protect her yoke and treasure.

_I cannot! I cannot! I cannot!_

As Kelly cowered on the edge of madness there was a knocking on the front door. Gwen cried in some annoyance “I’ll get it!” and raced towards the front door. Kelly raised her head as it opened and Gwen gasped.

“Rhon-Rhona?!”

#

Eddie won the distinction of being the only one to not vomit when the arduous race to the sea on Dougal's back came at last to an end.

Of course she did have an unfair advantage as she had ridden Naoise several times before and even once from the spring in the cavern to the river and then lake. Nevertheless she had had to lay still until the dizziness stopped of so much twisting and turning. When she was finally able to sit up she found they were on a beach. The shore birds screamed over head as they floated down to look hopefully at the sudden visitors.

Dougal's furious charge could not have lasted more than ten minutes total and by pipe and water he had managed to travel far more quickly than any human invention. They had erupted from the network of pipes through a fountain that may have been the one to reside in the park in North Vale but the kelpie had galloped so quickly the landscape had become an indiscernible blur. When they came upon the Santa Ana River Dougal had followed it to the sea itself.

"We'll rest for a few minutes." Nejem was the first one to find her voice however as she leaned against the leg of the gasping Dougal. "Even fae need a rest and I doubt Yusuf will not be in too good of a shape when he arrives."

She pulled herself up and walked a few feet away before she began to call "Hazar."

As Eddie followed Nejem's path from where she lay near the surf she realized they were in an isolated cove. There were homes perched above on the cliffs further back but due to the angle of the cove they would not be visible to anyone looking down from some window. The surf was gentle as it was abated by the rocks that sheltered the shore. She shivered at the cold air alighted by salty spray. It had been years since she had heard the roar of the ocean.

Eddie held Jai's bowl to her chest and found the frog appeared to be none the worse for the wear from where he floated in his few inches of water. Sarah had protested bringing him along but Eddie feared for him when he was so helpless even if just from perhaps a cat. After all Eddie had been the one to make him so defenseless. She pushed herself up as a tall young woman appeared with a cry.

"My! Mom you brought yourself an entourage!" Nejem walked up to apparently explain things to her daughter and Matthew at last appeared by Eddie's side after she had stood. He was wavering in his stance but his expression was determined. She looked over his shoulder to see where Stan was helping Sarah stand. The red head at last discarded her heels with an annoyed huff.

"Are you all right?" Matthew asked and Eddie nodded.

"Do you want to...?" she asked hesitantly.

"We can wait until after we've had a rest before you tell me what in hell is going on," Matthew groaned as he put his hands to his temples, his world was apparently still spinning.

Eddie’s phone began to ring. She went stiff as it lit up her pants pocket. How had it not been drowned in the water? She pulled it out and gasped at the name on the screen.

“It’s Regan.” She glanced at Nejem. “What should I do? Can he track our location with it?”

“He knows where we are. He knows where I live. He knows it’s the only place I can go as it’s the only place I already have protected.” She narrowed her eyes. “A cell phone is a communication device, it exists for that purpose. He is not using electronic signals to contact you through it.”

“So I…” it was her choice to answer it then. She hesitated, but had some mildly delusional hope she could diffuse the entire situation. She swiped the screen to answer. She cleared her throat and tried to give her voice a determination despite its breathlessness.

“Hello?”

“Eddie. This has gone too far as I am sure you already know.” Regan’s voice was as polite as ever but it was tense in its punctuated words.

“Oh, yeah,” Eddie couldn’t help but to snort. “But in what way for you? Because I took off in fear of being mind-wiped or that you tried to manipulate Naoise and instead you killed your great-uncle?”

“In that you’re holding Jai Darzi hostage,” Regan coolly replied. “Only I can give him his human form back, are you going to force him to be a frog for the rest of his life? Something he hates?”

“I…I’ll find some way to make him into a prince again.” Her voice faltered because she knew she had no idea now how she would do so. Regan laughed at her.

“You’re with people who would have exposed him long before. None of you know how to create life, only take it away.”

“We only want an end to the lies!” Eddie cried. She raised her face to look at the placid surf. “Trade me Naoise for Jai.”

“Oh so he _is_ a hostage. How cruel you’ve become Eddie! Don’t you know he was in love with you?”

“I-!” she gasped. She looked down at where Jai lingered in his bowl. She swallowed, but like her Jai had made a choice.

“Yes I am that cruel.” Admitting it would give him no power over her. To her glee Regan paused on the other end of the line, clearly not expecting her to admit it. “If Naoise gave up his freedom for me…he became like me. And to save him, I will become like him.”

“You’ve gone absolutely insane!” Regan hissed.

“But Regan, you can save Jai. All you have to do is tell the truth.”

“I have told you the truth! You became drunk and said something you shouldn’t have! Of all people I expected _you_ to take responsibility for your actions.”

“And I would have believed you…if not for Yusuf also being there that night.” Regan inhaled. Eddie smiled bitterly. “He believes Naoise was trying to save my brother’s life. And….who has cause to kill my brother?”

“It was all a lie by that kelpie! He has wanted to eradicate the MacGregors for centuries and now he will do it! If I return him to you he’ll kill us all!” Regan cried. His sincerity bellowed in his desperation, his fear of the faerie at least gave veracity to his words.

But it was only because of his true belief in knowing he would be punished for his crime, not because it was the truth.

“Perhaps,” Eddie could admit this as well. She may be wrong. She may be exonerating a monster that may tear out her throat the second she did. She closed her eyes and listened to the shore birds screaming overhead.

“Eddie. I would never kill your brother. You have my word. I may be cruel in my own ways, but I would never shed innocent blood. It is against my oath.” Eddie absorbed the words, wishing it could all be true, but she knew she would never know unless she tore that veil for herself.

“Give me a few days to think about it, Regan.” She placated him. He sighed at the other end of the line.

“Very well. I’ll call you again.” He let her go and Eddie replaced the dead phone into her pocket. She turned to her companions.

“I gave us a few days I think….and I also think he has no idea about Rhona,” she comforted them. Matthew only looked down at the sand.

“What did he say?” Sarah asked.

“That I’m holding Jai hostage. And I’m being a bitch,” Sarah snorted in response. Nejem reached down and gathered a handful of sand. She muttered something as she let it disperse upon the wind. In a concentric circle around the group the sand rolled in waves and from underneath that second surf a line of small men and women appeared.

They were small enough to ride upon a cat, and nearly as hairy as one. They were dressed in bright colors over their hair, the women in ankle length skirts and _gele_ and the men in caftans and caps. They smiled at the visitors who gave them startled looks in return. They gathered around Nejem’s ankles.

“These are aziza. People of the forest, but here I have given them the sand of the beach in lieu of anthills. They’re going to help us keep Regan’s spirits away.” Nejem explained. She kneeled down and reached into her bag. She offered a small jar of honey that the oldest male aziza took. Nejem whispered to them and for the first time Eddie realized their voices were so soft that their speaking voices sounded like a murmur to her. She had never felt so tall in her life.

The tiny spirits apparently received their marching orders as they dispersed along the beach diving beneath the sand like a pod of dolphins, save for their chief and apparently his son by the shared shape of their nose and lips. Between them they carried the honey jar by the feet of their wards towards whatever entrance to their home. Eddie dropped down to her knees and palms and whispered a “thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” The son beamed at her in his miniscule tenor. The chief nodded at her before they were swallowed up by the sand. Matthew clapped a hand over his eyes and swayed.

“Keep your wits for a few more minutes lad,” Nejem sniffed at Matthew. She turned towards Eddie. “The aziza are weaving their nets. Let’s summon the selkie.”

She stood and Sarah followed only to be stopped by Nejem.

"Only I and Eddie will speak to the selkie." Sarah was informed.

"And why?"

"Because setting up such a ward as to hide even that many people is a great expenditure of magic." Nejem shrugged. "And also this selkie has good reason to be leery of humans; a large group may scare her off. The rest of you go back towards the cliffs and keep away."

Sarah frowned at this and Eddie squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"It’s no worse than staring down a kelpie,” she reminded her friend and Sarah chuckled.

"I guess Prince Frog can't come either," she pointed out drolly. Eddie handed the fish bowl over to her best friend. Jai croaked softly and looked up as he was transferred. He gave Sarah an almost suspicious glance, and she beamed at him in such a way that surely relieved none of the fears he may have had. Eddie waved to the group as she stepped out and tried to reassure her herself.

She took Nejem upon her back as the woman complained of pain in her joints after so much walking. Eddie found some small comfort at being complimented her back and hands were strong, as if they could hold up anything they wished. She gently set her co-conspirator down on the shore line.

"Do you know how to call a selkie out of the sea lass?" Nejem asked. Eddie shook her head. Hala pointed towards the surf. “You must cry seven tears into the sea.”

Eddie sighed and remembering that Sarah had brought along that bag of clothes she let her dress hem soak in the water as she walked to stand knee deep in the gentle waves. Whatever drying she had done on the shore was reversed by the waves. Unfortunately as easily as she could cry she found it difficult to do so on command, especially with an audience only a few feet away.

"Rhona, Rhona, it's me, Eddie." She said softly so Nejem would hopefully not over hear. She clasped her hands over her breast as if praying and she looked down to where her skirt floated about her knees as a lurid black sail.

"I need you. I…screwed up so badly. I think I helped killed Mr. MacGregor, and I don't know if it's Naoise's or Regan's fault." She told the waves. She raised her head towards the rising moon as the sun was extinguished in the waves. The ocean was so vast; could tears alone really call a being created from its waves? Eddie clasped her hands tighter to fight against the emptiness of the endless expanse and call forth one being.

"That poor man, I can't get his death out of my mind. It was terrible!" She touched her forehead to her folded hands. "I just can't let it go! I can't believe it should happen for no reason like that! And I have…good reason to think it wasn't pointless."

As she expressed her frustrated and intimate feelings she at last felt tears forming. As she recalled her horror at finding a man slaughtered and the look of despair in Naoise's eyes the last time she had seen him. The tears ran down her cheeks as she thought of MacGregor's smile and Naoise's gentle hands.

"I'm not running away anymore, you see, and I want to see what I've truly done!" She called out as the tears spilled to fill the ocean. As the seventh glided into the waves below at last the waters parted.

A woman stood before Eddie, her long blonde hair caught the fading light like it was beaded with diamonds, and her simple white dress was covered by only a seal's pelt tied around her neck. The soaked dress did little to hide her pendulous breasts and the curves of her waist and hips. The ring upon its silver chain was the only other thing she wore upon her glistening body. The selkie was stunning in her unfettered state. She was whole with not even a scar upon the shoulder that had been torn open by Naoise's jaws. This was the fae as she should be, wild and untamed, beyond the reaches of any man or woman.

"…Rhona." Eddie breathed in awed wonder.

"Speak freely,” Nejem prompted. “The aziza have obscured even your voices.”

"Thanks," Eddie replied as Rhona cocked her head.

“Wise Woman Hala Nejem, it’s been a while since I was able to speak to you like this.” The fae woman narrowed her eyes.

“Indeed.” Nejem agreed. She bobbed along the waves as she came in from the shore. “But it was not my idea to summon you, it was the girl’s.”

The faerie blinked and turned towards Eddie. “What do you wish for me to tell you? I would believe either Regan or Naoise engineered that man’s death, but I was not there that night.”

“The truth, and because of what you know of Regan, I think only you could get it.” Eddie sad quietly, her voice barely above the murmur of the surf. Rhona narrowed her eyes and looked at Nejem again.

“You too gain here wise woman. What is it you want?”

“The true murderer of Ulysses MacGregor, my friend.” Nejem raised her chin.

"And what do you gain?" She looked at Eddie. "Freeing your lover?"

"No, I…have no idea if Naoise would want me after all this," Eddie confessed miserably. Rhona raised an eyebrow. Eddie explained about the possible gambit Naoise may have engaged in to save her brother and by extension her. Rhona looked fairly stunned as Eddie continued. "So even if he doesn't love me anymore, I will free him if he's not guilty. I am doing this to make things right and because…"

She hung her head. "All my life, I ran away from things. If I did something bad, I let someone else handle it or tried to find ways to ignore it. These past few days, I started falling back into my old habits. But I won't ever again, I will always, always…"

She looked up. "See what I've really done from now on!"

Rhona stepped back and narrowed her eyes in appraisal. The fae woman raised up a hand and removed the chain from around her neck. She held up the ring and Eddie opened her hands.

"You are no longer afraid,” Rhona informed her gently.

“Thank you,” Eddie breathed.

Rhona smiled, wide and genuine, and dropped the ring into Eddie's palm. The young woman caught it and held it up to the moon light. The etching of a horse flared upon the ring, a fae gift to a favorite, and the gift of a man to the woman he loved.

"I owe you a favor," Rhona informed her as Eddie placed the ring upon her neck. "You freed me."

"You have now given me what I asked for to free you," Eddie reminded her as her fingertips traced the ring above her breasts. "I….don’t you want revenge upon Regan? For what he did to you?"

"If I had desired it, I would have gotten it." Rhona informed her. Her mouth turned down at Eddie’s surprise and she explained. "Regan…is the son of the person I loved most, and at one time, I loved him too. Even now, even after all he did to me, I cannot bring myself to punish him for the loneliness and bitterness his mother inspired in him."

"Rhona…" Eddie was flabbergasted by this confession. When she had known fae as such proud creatures to hear one that had been so abused cry out for mercy was unbelievable. The selkie stepped closer and brought Eddie close to her. What she was about to tell the other woman was meant for her ears alone.

"I am a selkie, a daughter of the ocean, I am immortal and wild. Yet humans have such a frail beauty, the way they _love_ , no fae could do it on their own, they can only _imitate._ Once, Lorna had a lot of love to give. When she first cried seven tears into the sea as a lonely young girl and I was attracted to her empty heart that was seeking desperately to fill itself. I wished to fill that void with myself, my love, my life, my _everything_ , I gave up my very existence to her with my pelt." Rhona gave a sigh that almost sounded like a small groan at the memory.

"But I wasn't enough. That girl wanted to be loved by everyone. The world would not have been able to fill the hole in her heart. I knew it but didn't wish to. When Lorna wanted to seal that damned lake I refused to help her. Why should she suffer for these people who couldn't understand her? I offered to take her to Tir Na Nog, to the land beneath the sea, to live in eternal youth and beauty with me." Rhona stepped back and cupped Eddie's cheek to tilt her face up. Eddie froze at such touch, but it was not an unwelcome gesture. It was intimate, but not seductive.

"We Selkies have a great tradition of soothing broken hearts. My brothers and sisters often take human lovers who cry out to us in despair. I have had other human lovers. Yet to Lorna alone I offered my eternal love. I could have given her that, but I would not give her my kiss."

She dropped her hand but didn’t move back, a monolith of frustrated despair.

"Laced with my blood." She explained as she pulled away and Eddie nearly fell from her arms. "I would not give such a thing to you either. Fae magic is only corrosive to humans and I refused that kiss to Lorna knowing to give her that much power I would have to bleed myself dry and she would have drowned in it."

She closed her eyes and grimaced at the memory. She raised her face up and looked up at some distant star. The wind gently collected water from the ocean's surface and spread a fine mist across the women's bodies. Eddie shivered and Rhona only spread her fingers to let the drops ride down her hands, as if feeling every small splash on her palm. Rhona was achingly lovely with sea salt upon her lips and her wet hair tangled about her long neck. How could such a creature be resisted when asked to lay upon the shore with her? Had Regan really thought slavery had made her as beguiling as she was now with no master or mistress?

"But all the same she sought that power and found it in someone else who felt the same maddening passion for her. And when she returned to me, I gave her my pelt, to try to heal the wound. But the hole could never be filled, and she used it to betray me." Rhona stepped back to let Eddie stand in the shuddering ocean on her own two feet, not held aloft at all by wonder.

"Regan was born from that time of anger and desperation."

"You feel responsible." Eddie realized.

"I resented him, I hated him, but I pitied him even more than anything else. When Lorna made her intentions clear to have that child, I knew the cycle of agony was not over. I could not stop her and that boy…could only live the existence she gave him." She opened her right hand as her left drew her arms up over her breasts in a gesture of vulnerability.

"I cannot punish him for his mother's sin."

_The curse of love._ To not even being able to avenge yourself upon those who had so wronged you. Had Rhona really felt as if she had _deserved_ to suffer and be abused? Eddie felt her heart rend with an icy tear. She clenched a fist as she recalled the indifference of fae to the suffering of their people. Was it really so surprising that fae would so often seek out human compassion in such a culture of shame and blame? Naoise had suffered a similar punishment for behaving as a fae should not. Yet like humans they yearned for love. Such an endeavor was even more fraught with peril for a fae however who would find no recourse among their own people if they were misused.

"I won't ask you to confront all the sins of your lover," Eddie began carefully. "Or ask for more than the ring I asked for when I first offered to free you. It is not for me to ask you to include yourself in this struggle when you have already suffered so much."

Eddie inhaled deeply and squared her shoulders. She could not ask this woman to fight her battle for her. Yet she could not leave her to continue wearing a chain of guilt even when she was free. Eddie had wished to free Rhona, but all she had done so far was release her.

But as she had learned from Jai Darzi, the prince who had refused to be rescued and thus had only fallen further, a person must _wish_ to be saved.

"But…can you really just ignore what happened?" Rhona looked at her in trepidation and Eddie smiled gently at her. "And I think I am learning one thing in all of this even if I have sinned, even if you have, even if we all bear some responsibility in tragedy, that doesn't mean _others_ do not."

Eddie exhaled at Rhona's questioning glance.

"Regan's choices are his own. Even if Naoise is the one who is ultimately responsible for MacGregor's death, Regan still carries the sin of abusing _you_."

"It was his mother who enslaved me and made me nothing but a possession of her family—" Rhona countered.

"But you don't blame her either, do you? You only blame yourself." Eddie interrupted and felt a literal pain in her chest at Rhona's surprised and then anguished expression. She turned away before Eddie could no longer stand to see her in such a way. Eddie exhaled and closed her eyes in an attempt to control the rising bile in her throat.

"I'm sorry; perhaps I shouldn't have come out here at all, asking you to confront those memories and for no reason other than my own desire to know the truth." Eddie swallowed the burning feeling down. "But I want you to know, Rhona, there's nothing evil or selfish about wanting to be loved. It wasn't your fault. None of it was your fault. You loved Lorna but she _chose_ to betray you, Regan _chose_ to abuse you. But you _didn't_ choose any of it."

The selkie woman didn't answer and remained with her head bowed, shuddering in some horror. Eddie raised a hand to soothe the other woman but felt like she had done _enough._ Had she only managed to torment the selkie? She would stop before she did even more damage. She certainly could not, nor had any interest in, attempting to coax Rhona into a confrontation with Regan. She turned away and shook her head at Nejem's questioning glance. A hand suddenly grasped Eddie's arm however.

"Wait." Rhona cried softly. She straightened her stance and drew Eddie close. "The reason why you want to put Regan on trial, is to only know the truth?"

"I want to know if Naoise acted in love or rage that night. And I want to free him if he's innocent."

"And the wise woman wants him exposed and removed from his position," Rhona narrowed her eyes at Nejem.

"Regan Seele is the keystone in all of this," Eddie pointed out. Rhona let her go and drew her arms around her chest.

"No one knows the extent of it, besides perhaps myself," Rhona said with a shake of her head. "But I didn't care. I didn't care what he did. I didn't care about myself. I could do nothing with my pelt gone. When I was freed I wanted to forget all about all of it. But I have found I cannot, I cannot."

The selkie rubbed her eyes in frustration and Eddie sighed softly at the cruel irony.

"Heh, and I remember you were the one who told me to relieve myself of my burden." Rhona lifted her palm to look on Eddie's smile in bemusement. "But, you just can't forget can you? That burden of knowing what is right and then doing it."

The fae woman's hand fell down so she could stare at Eddie in amazement.

"Rhona, you have power now, to do whatever you so wish. If there is something you wish to do, then do it." Eddie gently put her hands on Rhona's shoulders and beamed at her with hope.

"Let's both relieve ourselves of our burdens."

The selkie stared at the woman for several seconds, her dark eyes wide with hope even with her mouth still quivering in fear and hesitation. At last however Rhona nodded and returned the smile. Eddie stepped back at the radiance of it, fragile in its hope, and its despairing undertone burned brightly. What had she just inspired in Rhona? The vengeance of a wronged woman? No, that smile, it was not vindictive. It was the frail joy of a savior.

The selkie woman raised her hand and called over the wise woman.

#

Eddie returned to the shore with the ring upon her neck and Hala Nejem upon her back. The wise woman explained that she had stood for too long in the cold air and her joints had seized up. Whether she was lying or not, Eddie didn't care, she carried her ally back to the group with an air of singular triumph as much as her heart still thundered in fear and dread. They had sent Rhona ahead alone and Eddie could only pray Regan's unfulfilled heart still sought the selkie woman's touch. And she could only hope Rhona was not causing herself needless suffering.

Eddie shook hands with Hazar as they rejoined the group.

“My god but you’re young.” Hazar pulled on the edges of her hijab in some gesture of anxiety. “At least of age, right?”

“Twenty.” Eddie told her helpfully.

“That poor girl with the encantado was only sixteen, but it seems like the most vulnerable are the most at risk with spirits.”

"Well isn't it well known faeries are great for running off with girls?" Matthew frowned and Eddie could only give him a small and strained smile. She was not necessarily looking forward to telling him how she had nearly become a faerie bride, more than once.

"Any lovely young person," Dougal winked at him and Matthew paused. His eyes grew wide apparently only now realizing that Dougal was a fae, not a man. He stood transfixed for a few more seconds until Eddie pulled him away from Dougal whom he was now staring at like a snake waiting to strike.

“We’ve got a lot to talk about,” she glanced at Nejem in hope she would corral the crowd. The wise woman took her cue and indicated for them to follow her up the cliffs. They were entertained by Hazar telling them that the encantado was a sprit that lived as a river dolphin most of the time after Sarah asked. Like fae they liked a good party and often joined one in human form after covering their blow-hole with a hat. Also like fae they sometimes liked to make off with the party guests.

“They usually aren’t as clever as being able to find prey when they’re a few thousand miles away. Regan had something to do with that I’m sure of it,” Nejem groused as they crossed the street and began making the intricate turns until they came to the right condo a few blocks from the shore. A man walking his Maltese stared at the drenched pilgrimage from across the way. They didn’t make eye contact and his walk became a jog.

The condo was much like any other in the neighborhood, it was a faded beige in color and the small lawn was guarded by a few stray plastic flamingoes. Nejem’s neighbor’s door was only six inches from hers and they surely shared that wall between them. The only true difference from the others was the amount of wind-chimes that were strung along the eaves of the Nejem family’s dwelling. With a good wind the place would no doubt sound like a chorus of silver bells. For, even corroded, silver probably held its power against the spirits.

Though the home was two stories it was made of small rooms with tight turns. It was also full of cats. Eddie counted no less than five skittering across the front room when they entered it. And as cats were clandestine creatures there was likely more luxuriating in the unoccupied rooms and lounging beneath furniture and in hidden cubbyholes. The living room at least was lined by a landing that was only wide enough for cat’s paws. Eddie wondered if perhaps these were Yusuf’s pets and not Nejem’s. Someone at least took remarkable care there was no odor and only a minimal amount of fur on the furniture.

They crowded around the living room with its paisley sofa set. Hazar disappeared to make tea and Eddie tried to not look at the family photographs on the wall. It felt like an invasion of privacy to her as the man in the photos was apparently not here. It made her realize the sacrifice people like Nejem made. Whatever had happened to her apparent partner, though only a few days before a monstrous dolphin-man had disturbed the peace of this community, though she had a daughter, Nejem was carrying on as if there was no storm at all as she walked down the path.

Sarah held her hand for no other reason than resolve.

As Hazar set down the tea and a small collection of cakes and whispered a small grace something suddenly clattered in the cobalt bottle that Nejem had set on an end table.

“Yusuf?” Nejem asked.

“I am not hurt,” the jinn’s voice was tiny and wan. “I am only very tired. The aziza have done their job well. The barrier holds a block from here.”

“Rest then. We found the selkie. We only need to explain a few things.” The wise woman soothed. Yusuf remained silent for quite some time and Eddie wondered if he slept as she had seen Naoise do once.

“Eddie,” Nejem lightly prompted as she handed the girl her tea cup. She found the tea to be thick and very sweet, it alone nearly replaced dinner in its calories content. “Why don’t you tell us how we got here?”

For Matthew’s benefit, and to repay Hazar for her earlier story, she began with her brother dropping their mother's wedding ring into Lake Santos. She explained how this had broken Lorna Seele's seal. She tried to keep her voice level and free of any emotion yet she found it breaking into frustration, rage, and at last despair as she described finding the mutilated body upon the floor. She was helped in her narration by Dougal, Sarah, and even Stan at times.

She outlined the struggle with Regan. His temptation and machinations she had perhaps at last fallen victim to. She described her desperation becoming so great that she even offered her life to the fae she had enslaved. Matthew shook with tangible rage and fear to hear this but after his initial cry of disbelief he let his sister finish. Eddie looked away as she continued the sordid tale in all its vicious wonder.

The only thing she withheld was the most intimate moments she had shared with Naoise; their clandestine kisses in the dark the night of the dance, their yearning embrace at the edge of the lake, and his last "I love you". It was not because she was ashamed of these moments. It was because such things belonged to them alone. Like those sunrises she had promised Naoise their moments in the darkness their entire world had consisted of no one else but each other for however many seconds, minutes, or hours that universe had existed. They were not hers alone to share.

Yet she didn't try to hide the feelings that once had seemed so threatening. She explained how her views on Naoise had slowly changed through arduous inches. She _was_ ashamed to admit her refusal to see the kelpie as anything but a callous monster had blinded her to the possibility that he loved her the same. She spared herself no recourse and kept her voice strong as she laid her sins bare at last.

She raised her eyes up to face her brother's judgment when she had finished her confession. She found him gone however, the door slamming open in his wake. She quickly rose and chased after him.

"Matthew!" She cried at his retreating back. He turned around with wide and wild eyes and shook his hand at her, begging her to not follow him to wherever he was to land; rage, despair, regret, or simple madness.

"Just, just, let me be for a while!" he pleaded. Eddie hesitated in the doorway and Nejem put a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

"Let him go, after all he only learned of spirits even existing a little more than an hour ago."

"Is it safe for him to be out wandering alone?" she cried.

"Safe enough. My spirits will keep out Regan's sneaky buggers. And if he tries to go across the aziza’s border he’ll get his nose smashed." Nejem told her firmly. She shook her head, "it's often a bitter pill to swallow, knowing spirits exist, for the normal man. It may do him some good to speak to Idehen, the aziza chief."

Eddie numbly nodded but she kept her eyes anxiously turned towards where her brother had gone. She was eventually led back in by Sarah. With the group around them, she and the wise woman explained the plot they had conceived with Rhona.

“It’s so spectacularly vicious!” Dougal cooed in approval. Eddie could only sigh at him. Sarah raised her cup in anticipation and Stan turned away. Eddie motioned for Dougal to join her outside. The kelpie readily acquiesced.

There was an alleyway on the left side of the home and it served as the closest thing to a backyard in the cramped neighborhood. Eddie pulled up two lawn chairs from the front. Dougal stretched out in his, lounging, his bare toes tracing the filthy water had accumulated in the drain. As the run-off drifted past his toes it turned clear and pristine. Eddie remembered her bite wound that had left no scar thanks to Naoise’s touch.

In the alleyway they would be protected from immediate view by a passer-by. The streets lights loomed harshly overhead however, flooding every corner with unnatural light. Dougal’s smug grin because languid and savage in its contorted shadow. Eddie perched on her seat next to him.

"I have something for you," Dougal tilted his head curiously but smiled when she showed him the ring. "She gave it back to me."

"Because you so charmed her I'm sure," he said with a laugh and shook his head in refusal when she tried to give it to him. "Keep it lass; I have no use for it."

His expression became more serious and tinged by regret. His voice lowered even as he still wore what was now a perhaps ironic and even mournful smile.

"The only reason I had it before is because Ulysses told me he could no longer stand to have it in his possession." The next seconds he was brightly beaming again. "Perhaps one day you'll find a lad you like to give it to!"

Eddie sighed a little at the teasing as she put the ring back around her neck. She had become desensitized to Dougal's irreverence by now and could only smile wearily at him.

"Speaking of lads, here is our wayward man," He cried. Eddie looked up and spotted Matthew at one end of the alleyway. Dougal waved at him gleefully and the man seemed to just sigh resignedly at the faerie. Eddie left her seat, and minutes later it was occupied by Stan. Eddie walked towards her brother with small and anxious steps wishing to know if his look was one of resentment, loathing, or worry. As Matthew drew her close in a hug, she knew it was one of acceptance.

"Eddie, you…" he struggled for words as he stepped back. He shook his head, coughed, and suddenly burst out with a speech he had probably been practicing for the past few minutes. She knew this because she had caught him more than once doing this before his bathroom mirror.

"Look. Of all the men in the world you could have chosen, I would have had just about any other than the one that is a lake monster. But if he's done what you said, and changed—"

"He hasn't changed at all." Eddie interrupted him gently. She gave a small quirked smile. "All he did was show me more of himself, and perhaps shown me he could love. If he did however, he had that capacity all along."

Matthew swallowed but nodded and tried to pick up the place where he had left off.

"If he would be kind to you, not kill you, love you, and basically not be the dickhead I'm so familiar with, then, even if I'll likely never bring myself to like him," Matthew rambled as he reached his conclusion his sister was waiting for with baited breath. "Then, I will accept him as your man."

"But only if he really _is_ a good man!" He hurriedly emphasized and Eddie nodded with a choked sob of gratitude. She was grateful Matthew had overcome his shock and that he had proven he could exist in a world of spirits. Regan had never been right about him. If it made his sister happy, he would let her marry a kelpie. If he had a Sighted child he would surely only warn them against dating spirits as after all…did they wish to end up like their aunt with her sullen husband? He would happily exist in whatever world Kelly did.

"Only if he really is a good man," she agreed with a sigh and swallowed her tears. And she was ready to bear whatever the truth was.

"And!" Matthew continued on as if he was afraid his courage would fail. "If Kelly needs me, I'll be there for her. You were right about runnin' off so suddenly. I don’t know, what came over me then."

Eddie drew in her breath, she had a feeling why, but she could of course not confirm or deny it. And Regan’s malice should not become a crux to explain all of their ineptitudes. After all, enchantments only grew if they could find a hold. She merely shook her head at him.

"I'm sorry Matthew; that I lied to you, that I did something that could hurt you so much, and I just got so lucky it didn't go worse. It shouldn't have taken a man dying for me to realize what I'd truly done but," She leaned into her brother and let him hold her again. "I know now that self-sacrifice doesn't solve everything and sparing ourselves is not selfish or bad, because we have people that need us whole and alive."

And that was how Kelly needed him; ready and willing. He held her gently and Eddie explained how Rhona would be their shock troop. How they were to forcibly pull the truth from Regan Seele's lips. They spoke for long hours about their mutual hopes and fears and their opinion of this new terrible and beautiful world. They rested their wings after circling over that open abyss that always yawned below that first leap.

And Eddie could only hope that Rhona had grown her own wings to fly beyond that yawning expanse of regret and guilt.

#

It was dark at the bottom.

One groped along with their face always raised towards the distant sky. One knew light must be there and so they raised their hands towards that distant horizon. Rhona however had lived in darkness long enough to know light did not solely come from above. It can be found in the deepest depths of despair, it may be dim in such a place, but it burned forever. To see that gentle warmth again she had descended into these pernicious depths once again. She would not come to the surface again however without exposing that small flicker of light to the sun above.

She had a miserable and pitying thought that she was the sole light in Regan's bleak existence when he had been forced to shade all the other light. He had been unsurprisingly suspicious when she had appeared on the door step of the home, bare foot, in a white dress, and as demure as he would remember her. She had coaxed his desire forward with a seeking kiss to the neck. He had allowed her in despite the stunned stares of his female family members and he had quickly sequestered her from sight and all judgment in his study. The presentation of the pelt had been enough to silence his doubts. It was a whole seal pelt and enchanted to resemble whatever memory he had of hers.

The wise woman had warned however the piece of trickery would fail if it was examined too closely. Nevertheless in his amazement Regan had accepted it and after a submissive gesture of fellaitio he could see nothing else but love in every motion she made, in every word she said. He had her again in his grasp and she could never flee again. She would only leave. Leave and return upon his chain; again and again. For like him, she had reassured him in a sultry whisper with his seed still bitter upon her lips, she was lonely.

In her subjection he took comfort. Her body was his, inseparable from his own flesh. She was simply a mirror that reflected his desires. Her psyche was subordinate to his, with no thought that was not his own, no opinion that conflicted his.

All of this Rhona knew from her experience before. As she resumed her role as victim, he resumed his role as abuser. As if they could be nothing else. She could only be the whore who had replaced his mother. Her possession that he clung to like a child does a blanket or doll, the relic from childhood. It was the incestuous thrill of dominating an adolescent care giver. It was the cruelty of learned indifference. It was the small world of suffering.

It was the life she had been given in her love for Lorna MacGregor.

Before she had borne this all torment in passive agony. In her anguish she had removed hope from her life. Without hope, there is no despair. There is only meaningless suffering and in that sort of suffering there is only darkness. She had been nothing but a beloved bauble passed from a mother to a son, a decoration of vanity, devoid of identity. It had been the only way to survive.

As Rhona had walked up to the home she had paused in fear of returning to that lightless existence. She had left her true pelt with Eddie, the only human to ever touch it and not claimed it as her own. She however had been tricked by such kindness before. She had not seen cruelty in Lorna until it had been too late.

Was she walking back into another bind?

Rhona's fists had curled as she had paused before the door. She had placed her suitcase down, and considered abandoning the false pelt and plan. She recalled however Eddie's earnest expression and her certainty of Rhona's autonomy. She had not asked the selkie to do a thing for her; she had only showed the way to redemption.

Even if she was betrayed again, she knew now she could save herself, and she would at whatever cost. She was fae, she was immortal, and she existed beyond the reach of all of humanity. A chain didn't change this for she could not be anything else but what she was. She would save who she must.

And only she could fill the hole within her heart; if only Lorna had realized this.

She pulled her burden along on soft and adoring entreaties. She soothed his fears. She chased away his loneliness. She expressed regret. She pleaded for him to forgive her. She was given everything she asked for, as she had been before, save for the one thing she had needed.

Mercy.

He subordinated the doubts and objections of his stepmother. He plied along his two sisters. He made the women as passive as the cows in the field. And Rhona no longer looked on in silent resentment but began to construct an elaborate fantasy of chaining this man to the earth. Of letting him taste the prison he had subjected so many others to; ignorance.

He showed her his war prize, won from Eddie Moreno, the proud Naoise of Lake Santos. He was kept in state in the cavern beneath their feet. The kelpie was subdued but not yet defeated. Regan had been forced to order him to not attempt to enchant or manipulate his beloved sister. Her suspicion was confirmed, he could not see that bracelet Naoise had enchanted. Rhona was not surprised something so vindictive attempt to tear Regan's world apart by attacking its center. The kelpie had proved too dangerous to be allowed even the mediocre freedom of chained instead of imprisoned.

Rhona gave him no word of encouragement that he was still loved, that he had someone who wished to save him, for despite their similar binds, she could not bring herself to see him as a kinsman. If Eddie Moreno wished to rescue him, it would be her task alone. He was still the catalyst for all Lorna had suffered and Rhona would never forgive him. He had always borne that hatred however without complaint or entreaty. For all his arrogance, Naoise of Lake Santos had always known when he deserved retribution.

She gave Regan the kiss she had denied his mother so many years before; the blood soaked kiss of power. It would be the signal of his downfall. Smirking like a pleased child he had entrapped the kelpie with Rhona's magic within a tourmaline ring. It was no small task to imprison a fae in such a confine but with the Rhona's magic and Naoise's weakened state; it had been accomplished with Regan only spitting a little blood. Regan placed the two toned stone of emerald and citrine upon his finger.

Rhona knew then she only had mere hours before he would attempt to hide her pelt again. An enchantment would take months, perhaps years, to reach its maximum efficacy. She could lead him on for a few hours at a time, but not enough time had passed for her to truly ensnare him. Regan would not wait that long to look upon the pelt again and would surely find it false. No, she would wait no longer than she must.

They fucked all that afternoon of the second day. It had been a distraction and an exercise in masochism. Rhona felt the old scars reopening. It ached to hide her anger and hurt. She had seen the sun and could no longer return to numbing darkness.

How long could she stand it? The women were gone but Kelly would return at nightfall. She had kept away the spies and messengers warning that Edith Moreno had returned to the basin for as long as she could in her sumptuous embrace. When the yakshani had whispered in Regan's ear however, when Rhona looked away for only a moment, he had only grinned at the news. Rhona knew she must act now or lose the chance to at last expose Lorna's son for his own sins.

She excused herself to the adjoining bathroom of the suite where hours before she had hidden a certain potion. Decades ago the wise woman had brewed it for a different task but she had given her pupil a bottle of the concoction. It may have been passed down, like Rhona, from mother to son. What she held in her hand may have been exactly what Eddie Moreno may have fallen to that night. She hid the bottle between her breasts, close to her heart. She didn't know how she would get Regan to drink such a thing. She could perhaps enchant it to look like wine, full of a sickening sweetness. Perhaps she could slip it into an innocent drink and hide the taste.

She found herself alone in the suite and felt her heart stop. She told herself to remain calm, Regan didn't have her pelt. He could no longer force her to obey him. She was his superior in strength and cunning. Rhona left the room to look for her despised captor only to have him meet her on the stairs, the false pelt in hand. His green eyes sparked with fury that made her recoil if only for the memory of Lorna's rage.

"Rhona. This is _not_ your pelt." He seethed and in his arrogance had apparently forgotten this meant she was a _free_ fae. She was not his slave or anyone's. No longer compelled to be submissive to him the selkie easily side stepped his lunge. She grabbed his throat and before any of his servants could be summoned, she forced his mouth open with her deft and clawed fingers. She poured the potion down her gaping throat. He fell to her feet in a horrified wonder that he was looking at the selkie in her unbound state, when she was cloyingly dangerous and wildly vicious.

_I have power._ She stood over him and glowered. How pathetic that he had been tricked by nothing but his own perception. He had lived in illusion so long he had begun to believe his own lies. He began to try to plead with her, as he had that night she had escaped, but his words slurred as the brew coated his stomach and began to swim in his blood. She removed his phone from his pocket and called the number Eddie had given her.

"Now," was all she said as she caught a glimpse of a woman running up the stairs. Rhona braced herself for Lorna's daughter who had always looked at her as if trying to see through a fog.

"Kelly…" Rhona said before a ringing erupted across her skull. She stepped back at the slap and looked down in surprise as Kelly hovered over her older brother. The selkie sighed, no she shouldn't have been caught unaware by this. After all, was Kelly not Regan's princess? For her he had crafted this pernicious world of lies and illusion. The woman however had never asked to be enthroned, and only acted in love as she came to her brother's defense.

"Get out! I'll call the police! What have you done to him?" She demanded fiercely.

"What he did to Eddie Moreno a few nights ago, I imagine," Rhona said dryly and Kelly's eyes widened.

"What are you…?" She glowered and held her unconscious brother closer. "I swear, if you've hurt him-!"

"Shatter it." Rhona replied succinctly.

"What?"

"Shatter it, that chain he has on you." Rhona narrowed her eyes. "You cried, you pleaded with him not to, but all the same—he blinded you."

"Stop it!" Kelly snapped she moved back but would not abandon Regan. "I don't need to hear any more lies out of you! How dare you come back here and hurt him again!"

"And I did nothing. Because it is what your mother wanted." Kelly's mouth snapped shut as tears began to form in her beautiful eyes, eyes so like her mother's, eyes that Rhona had once become lost in. Now however she could only see an opaque and dead landscape of bondage and mutilation. Had all the life that had once lived there truly died?

"But we can no longer run from the truth. Here is the reckoning after so many years of silence." Rhona reached down and gently touched Kelly's cheek. The woman began to cry silently.

"I knew you as a child Kelly. I was there when you were born. I held you close to my breast and told your mother I had never seen a more beautiful child. I nurtured you. I loved you. And I abandoned you." Her thumb gently traced Kelly's cheek as she felt tears form in her own eyes. It was the first time she had wept since that day Regan had handed her Lorna's final letter. "I'm sorry. I should have never let those things be taken from you. But, now, only you can save yourself."

The ringing of a distant iron bell at last ruptured across the home. The vibrations thundered up from her feet and when they reached her heart Rhona fell to the ground in a stunned daze. Kelly cried out in alarm.

"Shatter it!" was all Rhona could plead through her pain. And at last the woman was compelled to do so in order to understand the suffering of the creature before her. The crystal was shattered beneath a heavy vase on the bannister. Kelly groaned and fell to her knees as a flood of memories came back to her. She raised her hands to her temples and shook her head. She gasped as she tried to rise above the tide.

“Rhona…you…” she exhaled in remembrance.

_I have thrown you down but I will raise you up._ This was all she could promise to the flicker of warmth that hat had not let all love die within her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna try to have this wrapped up by Summer. Thanks for your on-going support, readers!


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The assault on Regan's home. (In many ways.) 
> 
> (I can't give much more away without spoiling. :O)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second to last chapter. It's a llloooonnggg one so hopefully it hold you over until my Summer break (of two weeks as I decided to take summer courses) around the middle of June when I'll post the final installment. 
> 
> Also, sex happens in this chapter! More graphic and detailed than last chapter and also consensual! (And maybe overdue.)

Before Stan had met the kelpie, he had never asked for anything other than the breath in his body. He was a simple person really, content in his small world of family love and meager amusements. He had never asked why his father had refused to attend his own mother’s funereal. Why his mother barely tolerated his uncle An, when the man had never done anything besides offer kind words and gifts. Why they should live amongst chaparral and in isolation when the rest of their family lived in the city and amongst each other. It had all been too much to ask of his father who always seemed to be looking towards the most distant horizon in suffering silence.

Dougal had been like a supernova.

It had been in the kelpie's arms during the dance he had felt like that perhaps there was something _special_ about him. At the time, he had merely had the bemused thought of all the people that shoeless drifter could accost, he would choose _him_. It was probably the same reason Sarah always went after him.

Still despite his rather wild looking appearance, like he had just risen out of a river, Dougal had proved to be quite amicable and _interesting._ He was like no one else Stan had ever met. Only Dougal would hand you a glass of merlot and then regale you with a story of a maiden who had once caught the blood of the moon as wine in a glass. That was how he had introduced himself to Stan, as a man who had seen many explosions and had starbursts lingering in his past.

 

Yet he now held the magic Dougal had given him close to his heart. It felt like a ticking time bomb, waiting to burst into its own story. Stan was uncertain still if he wished to see that horizon his father turned away from. He had surely been given the chance to explode but Stan was above all a sensible person, not one to go to pieces. Dougal however had a way of igniting him.

Stan held onto the magic ticking away in his chest, indecision dampening the powder, but fantasy remaining an ever-present ignition source. He was beginning to wonder if Dougal had given him a gift or curse. He would not necessarily put it past the kelpie to be playing with him. Dougal was a scary bastard after all. He was not terrible like how Naoise was with his scowling and snarling but Dougal's eyes held that same specious gaze. Naoise knew what he was and seemed to have no problem showing it but Dougal seemed to prefer games and tricks. Naoise was the faerie as the fearful figure of ancient awe and terror. Dougal was the faerie as gleeful and unsympathetic trickster.

When he had been given the chance to speak to the kelpie alone after a meal and a shower the first night at the Nejem home, he had. He was grateful for the change of clothes Sarah had provided through Matthew Moreno was a far taller and heavier man than him. He had found Dougal lounging in a lawn chair in an alleyway. He was enchanting the water of the between world, with one toe idly in the dirty stream in the divot that collected rainwater down the middle of the alley. He was sprawled with a grin that almost looked _knowing._

Stan decided to mince no words as he took his seat.

"I think you're nice and all, Dougal, but, I'm not very interested in letting you fuck me." He told the kelpie succinctly. The fae blinked in surprise and raised his hands slightly. It was a gesture of slight confusion.

"How straight forward and vulgar you are! And also, so flattering. I think most assume I'm the sort who bends over." The kelpie laughed and Stan should have known he would not be offended. For all those stories about these guys liking to bite heads off, this one only seemed to be interested in getting a bite of the _other_ head. Stan shook his head. Dougal's malice laid elsewhere.

"Beg your pardon; I just wanted you to know I'm not looking for romance or…" He groped for the proper word. He shrugged however as he finished, "Well, _that_ , anyway."

"You know, lad, it's not about the fell swoop ravishing in the night." Dougal waved a hand.

"Have you ever watched a rose die?” He asked the young man pointedly. Stan frowned in slight confusion.

“Yeah.”

“And did you ever notice it gives off the greatest scent of its life as it dies?”

Stan pondered this and shoved his hands into his pockets as he realized the answer. “I’ve noticed.”

“Well humans are the same,” Dougal moved his gaze away from Stan’s in a half-lidded look towards the rainwater he was purifying as it ran over his big toe.

“How so?” Stan pressed. Dougal didn’t look back up at him.

“I have all the time in the world to watch you grow, bloom, and eventually, rot.” He at last rolled his eyes back up with an amused gaze. “I won’t ruin you before you’re ready to blossom.”

“Thanks,” Stan answered in a mildly sarcastic tone, mostly because he didn’t know how else to respond and so depended on his usual defense. He swallowed, but the knot in his throat didn’t subside.

"You're really different from your brother, you know?" Dougal raised his eyebrow in question at Stan’s observation. "You're perfectly all right with us dying, but he wanted to take Eddie to Faerie, where she couldn't die."

"Well, Naoise is an idiot, and I am not." Dougal smirked. He shook his head however, "Though I suppose I should be fairer to the wee fool. I learned my lesson the hard way too."

"Did you try to take someone to Faerie?" Stan asked as he remembered how Eddie had told him this kelpie had his heart broken before.

"Hm. Probably for the same reasons as Naoise tried to; well the second time, first time, I suggested he do it in lieu of killing."

"What?" Dougal shrugged at Stan's surprise.

"That he would make her his bride to legally take her to Faerie, where he could dispose of her as he wished, and he chose slavery. MacGregor asked for her life, and that arrangement at least allowed for the chance for her to save herself. And she did." Dougal confessed to this with no shame or defense. His actions simply _were; and_ he seemed to view them without good or evil attached.

"Never mind, you're just like your brother," Stan deadpanned. Dougal just grinned.

"Well, we can both be taught a new trick at least. Namely, to not underestimate you lot."

"And you learned this when you loved a human too." Stan realized. Dougal gave him a look that was almost sardonic.

"Aye."

_What would you have done, if Eddie hadn't saved herself?_ Stan didn't ask his question for he knew the answer, _nothing._ And this cruel creature is what had given him his spark of magic. He excused himself from the kelpie and returned to the condo. He found the "entourage", as Mrs. Nejem's daughter had called them, spread about the parlor in various state of consciousness. Sarah was drowsily reclined in an arm chair, her chin dreamily in her hand as she listened to Yusuf tell some story about the Garden of Eden from the top of his cobalt bottle. Eddie was completely asleep against her brother's shoulder on the sofa. Matthew was wide awake however but very far away from this tranquil scene. He didn't even look up when Stan shut the door.

He had a faint idea of what Matthew may be thinking. Beyond the collapse of his old world and the overturn of all he had known; how much longer could he hold onto her? Eddie had already once almost left him behind. She had almost left them all behind. She may be leading them towards a new horizon or just a cliff face.

They had all chosen to follow her however.

He nodded at Sarah's information that Mrs. Nejem had set up a few cots in the next room, an unused bedroom. He took the one closest to the window that floated in the middle of the west wall. He shared it with a fluffy Persian who tolerated him laying his head on the pillows. He listened the ponderous stream of cars float by and traced his heart as it softly beat beneath its cage. He imagined the magic that rested there, its wires ensnaring his heart, ready to shatter it to pieces.

_Not this way._ He decided and it was his last conscious thought before he was embraced by sleep.

#

When Rhona's call came to Matthew's phone Eddie was cradling a 500 pound iron bell in her palms. The jinn who had manipulated the size and weight of the bell put his hand on the woman's shoulder as she turned around. She remained frozen in her half turn as she watched her brother answer his phone. He shook his head briskly and frowned after a scant second.

"All she said was 'now', sounds like trouble." He looked up at the group. Eddie put the miniaturized bell into the breast pocket of her coat, where the pelt of a selkie also rested in wondrous smallness. She was carrying the full weight of her responsibilities. She held the prince she had transformed into a frog close to her like a fetus in a glass womb.

She was leading the charge and thus must be the heaviest burdened. This was her endeavor and while Nejem was guiding her steps, she was the one brooding over the apocalypse. This new world was the one she would create. Like the prince she held it as an egg in her hands, waiting for it to burst forth, either as monstrous and devouring, or gentle and embracing. Like John Chang she would have her own place, but hers could have never been one of joy and fantasy.

So in the end she had become Regan, the enchanter, capable of tearing worlds apart and reforming them into her own designs. Her world however would have the foundation of truth. And even if that truth was a devouring monster, she would hold it close to her heart.

"You don't think Regan…?" Sarah didn't finish her question and everyone else filled it in to their own taste of fear.

"We better hurry along then," Dougal urged before his glamour transformed to his equine form. It was a visceral memory that almost echoed across the vault of the ceiling. A dark stallion standing upon a floor that would always bear a phantom blood stain; where spirits existed fantasy and reality would so often cruelly intertwine and strangle.

It had been at Nejem's suggestion they use the former church as something of a command center and to secure the MacGregors’ church bell as a protective charm. They had arrived only about an hour before. They had known Regan's spirits would see and alert Rhona via her antagonist almost immediately afterwards. A night time attack seemed to be the most effective idea and the sun was rapidly disappearing from the world. Still the call had been sudden and upsetting with its brusqueness.

"Wait," Nejem commanded as they began to walk towards Dougal. She removed an enameled box from her bag. She lifted the lid and revealed four daggers nestled upon a velvet interior. They were plain with bone handles and their similarity to the one Regan had given her made Eddie's hair stand on end.

"You lot take one," she ordered, pushing the box at them.

"Eh? I don't know how to knife fight!" Eddie protested.

"What is there to know? Just stab it in," Nejem deadpanned. "They're silver, they won't kill a spirit, but they'll certainly _feel_ it."

Eddie still hesitated as the others picked their weapons. She took the last one however and let out a long sigh.

"Just stay by me," Matthew said softly, putting his hand on her shoulder.

After Nejem had been helped to her seat in front the rest of them mounted. It only took five minutes to reach Los Olivos, that's all it took. From MacGregor's former domicile upon Dougal's back it may as well been a seamless flight. Yet even suspended above the roaring world below, the moments stretched into endless existences of anxiety and fear. What existed beyond Dougal's sopping mane and his heaving barrel was a yawning abyss of any failure and miscalculation. Every second was miserable in its anticipation, but it was the final blissful moment before the fall.

As Dougal leapt over the ridge and thundered up to the home Eddie braced to leap. The jinn rose into the air as a vibrant burst of blue flames. The halo of his inferno unfurled across the sky like an incandescent veil. Nothing his fire touched burned but instead the flame rolled over the tree tops and home like rushing waves of water. Eddie knew however those flames chased away other spirits and the bell would complete the ward. Dougal paused only long enough to let his passengers off before he galloped away to distance himself from the toll of the bell. Nejem had explained the longer the bell was rung the further the vibrations would carry and the greater number of spirits would be cleared away. In the end it should chase away all but the most faithful.

Eddie looked forward in trepidation where she knew Rhona would be in the line of fire. After she looked up again from setting the bell on the ground she saw a figure running towards them. Like a shade escaping hell with her dark hair streaming Kelly flew into Matthew's arms.

"My love! How terrible it is!" She cried to the stunned man.

"Ring the bell!" The wise woman ordered and Eddie leapt back as the charm regained its original size on the ground. She couldn't look away from Kelly's tears however and felt an indescribable fear grip her heart.

Her body seemed to shimmer in the twilight, as if wearing a shiny veil. Eddie couldn’t discern what was beneath. She touched the ring on her finger and recalled she was protected from spirit tricks.

"No! You'll kill Rhona!" Kelly screamed as she turned towards Eddie, and for the very first time the woman received a good look at the tear stained expression of terror.

This was not Kelly.

Eddie stepped forward, too late. Eddie didn't see the glint of the blade until it was thrust at her brother's gut. As Eddie screamed the man narrowly avoided a fatal blow by turning sharply on his heel. He grunted however and fought to stay upright. He was going to be unable to defend against a counterstrike. The blade was raised again and there it froze in midair as blood poured over Eddie's fingers. The ends of the assailant’s hair turned sticky as they soaked with blood. As she turned to face her attacker the ends flared to throw hundreds of specks across Eddie's face.

"Spirit! It's a trick!" Nejem's voice rushed over the nightmare but Eddie could only watch as the woman futilely clawed at her breast as she fell down in agony from her punctured lung. Only as the body hit the earth did the enchantment fall away to reveal a small black dog, the familiar. The bell began to toll as the blood seeped to Eddie's shoes and stained the soles of her feet the same red as her palms.

Only Matthew's stumbling steps over to her broke her horrified stare. He drew her into his arms and she gasped at the feeling of the warmth of his blood soaking her shirt.

"It's all right, all right. It was just a trick. You didn't kill him." He could have just as easily said this to reassure himself but Eddie returned his embrace. She tried to calm her breathing enough to form words.

"Can you make it lad?" Nejem called over the rancorous tolling of the bell. She came over with irons chains in hand. The demon whined and futilely snapped its jaws as she bound it to the earth.

"Y-yes." Matthew gently pushed Eddie back to look down at his cut. Eddie pulled up his shirt to look at the wound. It was deep, and it would surely need stitches, but it had not punctured an organ, only cut the muscle layer. Nejem had said the bell would need to be rung for at least fifteen minutes to chase away all the spirits. As Stan and Sarah furiously beat against the bell and made the ground tremor with its horrific noise, Nejem and Eddie tore Eddie's coat into a make-shift bandage.

"Stupid, stupid," Matthew groaned in regret. "I should have known!"

"How could you have?" Eddie asked softly. "I thought it was her too at first."

Eddie removed the pelt to her jean pocket and entrusted Jai to Sarah. When they had finished Nejem motioned for the tolling to stop.

"That should be enough to have blasted out their ear drums," Nejem's eyes narrowed and raised her hand. The jinn materialized before her. "Or if not, we’ll keep Yusuf near."

Eddie picked up her knife from where it laid on the shore of the blood pool. The demon was snarling threats at her. She ignored him. She inhaled deeply and at last found her voice.

"Can you walk Matthew?" she asked lowly. The man hesitated to answer.

"I'll stay with him." Sarah volunteered. "Dougal will be along shortly won't he? We'll stay by the bell until then."

Eddie could have kissed the other woman in relief and Sarah happily took Matthew into her arms as they both sat by the bell. The demon that had assumed Kelly's form seemed to no longer be a danger but Sarah still struck the bell every few seconds with a clanging warning. Eddie retrieved Jai and kept him close to her in her vigil. The rotund shape of the bowl gave her something to cling to on the edge.

The home was completely still. Eddie walked slightly abreast of Stan after they had pushed open the front door. Nejem followed behind. Yusuf floated ahead like a small star that would lead them to an epiphany. He suddenly rose at the spiraling staircase that led to the music room and bedrooms. He hovered at the second twist and Eddie froze as she heard Kelly give a soft gasp at the sight of the bright light. It was perhaps only twelve steps to where Yusuf alighted but every step was fraught with the possibility of another demon or phantom suddenly melting out of the wall. The magic of the toll of the bell had permeated the home however as the way remained clear to where Rhona lay unconscious. The selkie lay crumpled with a drying line of blood beneath her nose. Kelly was sitting across with the drugged Regan clutched close to her bosom. She was looking upon Rhona in terror but seemed unable to abandon the selkie or flee.

Eddie fell next to Rhona with a cry and she gently lifted her into her lap. She recalled the warning of the false Kelly, _you'll kill Rhona!_ The real Kelly also gave out a warning.

"Eddie! Careful! She's-! She's-!" The woman reached out a hand and then dropped it in fruitless warning.

"I know what she is," Eddie answered as she tilted Rhona's head back and felt for her pulse. It was there, weak, but there.

"What?" Kelly asked breathlessly. The woman had no idea what was going on of course and Eddie had no idea where to even begin. "Why are you covered in blood?"

"Give her back her pelt Eddie." Nejem said before Eddie could even think of a possible answer. The wise woman was being helped by Stan up the flight of stairs. "It will bring her out of her spell."

"Did you know this was going to happen?" Eddie asked Nejem lowly as she pulled the pelt out of her pocket.

"So did she," Nejem answered. Eddie didn't reply. She laid the pelt upon Rhona's breast. The skin glimmered slightly as it grew to its original size. Rhona's eyes fluttered open and she let out a small sigh. Her arms rose to embrace the pelt, pulling it across her torso. She seemed to draw in some strength from it.

"Are you all right?" Eddie asked and Rhona nodded.

"What _are_ you?" Kelly asked with a small cry.

"So she _can_ see." Nejem frowned. She tapped her cane against a shattered crystal that glimmered by Kelly's feet. "I had long suspected Lorna was hiding some secret about her daughter. Or is this some more of Regan's mischief?"

"Her mother," Rhona muttered as she raised her head up. "It was Lorna's desire Kelly never become the Wise Woman of the Santos Basin, and Regan fulfilled that wish."

"Oh, Lorna, she should have known of all people that we can't deny what we are." Nejem shook her head.

"What are you two talking about? My mother? What have you done to Regan?" Kelly demanded. She looked at Eddie wildly. "Are you in on all of this?"

"Kelly," Eddie moved towards the older woman with her hand raised as Rhona moved off of her lap. "Please, just listen. I know you're worried about Regan, but he may have hurt many people, including myself. We want to find out the truth, that's all."

"So you did what— drug him?" Kelly's eyes darted between the looming wise woman and the shrinking selkie. "I should call the police! You think you can just come into someone's home and assault them? What evidence do you have my brother has done anything wrong? And even if he has, that should be handled in a court of law! Not by us!"

"What we're here to judge is beyond the limits of any human court." Nejem said fiercely. She pointed at the unconscious Regan. "He may be responsible for the death of Ulysses MacGregor, and by using magic as a means to manipulate a third party into being his accomplice! He is to be judged by his peers— wise men and women; those that bridge the worlds of spirit and human."

“And as you are a wise person,” Nejem narrowed her eyes. “You can judge your brother.”

"What evidence do you have of any such thing?" Kelly shrieked back holding her brother even closer. “Ulysses MacGregor has been dead for years. It was his son that was killed!”

"We have Edith Moreno's conviction _she_ was manipulated by him," Rhona began by putting her hands on Eddie's shoulders. "The lass knows in her heart something is not right. We could have the testimony of Naoise of Lake Santos once he is freed. But above all else…"

Rhona pointed at Kelly. " _You_ know all is not right. Who put that necklace upon you Kelly? Who didn't allow you to see until now? Who made you forget who I truly am to you? Do you not wish to see the full extent of your brother's lies? And did you not also have that feeling, that your ‘cousin’ was not who he said he was?"

"I…I…" Kelly hesitated. Tears began to fill her eyes and slide down her cheeks as she continued to cradle her brother like a mother does her small child. This was Kelly's shattered eggshell, and her brother the monstrous cuckoo chick that had murdered all of the other chicks in the nest. Like the deceived mother bird she continued to protect and nurture what had brought such tragedy upon her.

"What will you do to him?" She at last asked softly.

"Only ask him a few questions," Nejem answered.

"And if he's guilty?" Kelly's face hardened.

"Once we know the extent of his guilt we can decide his punishment," Nejem leaned down to put a hand on Kelly's shoulder. "But we cannot know until he talks."

"So you had to drug him?" Kelly narrowed her eyes and Nejem shrugged in response.

"It was the only way to pull the truth from his lips." The wise woman raised herself up. "Know this now, spirits don't operate on the level of justice and mercy. If you are to be judged by your actions in their world, it will be by _their_ rules."

"If nothing else you know he abused me," Rhona added bitterly. She looked up at Kelly. "I was your mother's, and he made me his without my consent. Would you look away from this when you can now see?"

Kelly gave a small sob at the accusation. She shook her head and closed her eyes as if she could will away the judges before her. She couldn't look away from whatever memories played on the back of her eyelids however and she at last gave up her brother to judgment. She let him slide from her arms onto the stairwell but her hands remained near, ready to pull him back into her protective embrace.

Nejem acted as prosecutor, kneeling down above Regan's head and placing her hand on his chest. She called his name three times. Regan opened his eyes but he was not awake. His pupils darted about with the frenzied motion of R.E.M. sleep. He was hovering just above a dream. Eddie shuddered to think she had been manipulated in such a state. Was it really possible that a person could be so exposed and vulnerable? That all the walls could be torn down?

"Why is Naoise of Lake Santos imprisoned?" Nejem asked first.

"Because Eddie gave him to me," Regan answered readily.

"Is he a murderer?"

"Yes." Regan vehemently replied.

"Of Ulysses MacGregor?"

"Yes." Eddie felt her throat clench.

"Why?"

"Because he found a loophole in the spell." Regan sneered.

"Spell?" Eddie asked and to her surprise Regan answered her.

"The pull of the bridle. Naoise is compelled to obey it. You knew two men with dead twins, who are near and blight your life.” Regan rolled his head. "Only you could order Naoise to kill someone. Only you could have betrayed him. So I drugged you into saying the magic words."

"Then who was the other man?" Eddie cried. She only asked in disbelieving horror.

"Your brother." Regan looked away and gave out a hoarse cry. Eddie felt the blood ice in her veins at the confirmation. _You were going to kill Matthew. You were going to take everything from me. You would have killed him if Naoise hadn't-!_ Eddie choked back a sob of outrage. It was true! It was really true!

Regan continued his somnolent rant. He gesticulated wildly. The composed and stately gentleman was nothing but a raging child lashing back at the world in his deepest depths.

"He was meant to only kill no one of importance! But like a true monster he finds a way to do even more damage! MacGregor's blood was his appetizer for my flesh!" He howled. "I will fall at his feet like my mother but I will leave one scar upon him forever! He will die knowing that I imprisoned him, owned him, for however briefly, I triumphed! I triumphed over the fae and saved my sister!"

Eddie covered her mouth with her hands and tears ran down her face. She pitied him. Even hating him, she pitied him. Is this how Rhona felt when she looked upon someone so wretched? For she could pity him because within him she saw herself, her desire to protect, her need to be justified, the wish to be proven right in her prejudices. How twisted and bitter she could have become if not for the love Naoise had given her. She looked up at Rhona who was resolutely looking away, a hand covering her face. _And even hating him, you loved him once._

"Stop! Stop!" Kelly begged with her hands over her ears. "This isn't true! It's the drugs! Regan would never-!"

"No! No! We need Naoise!" Eddie argued. She raised a hand to keep Kelly away before Regan could make his final confession. "Where is Naoise of Lake Santos? Where are you keeping him?"

"I have trapped Naoise of Lake Santos where sun does not shine. Where he can rot in darkness. Where he can see nor talk to none. Where he is helpless and defenseless." Regan smirked. His gleeful expression collapsed into rage. "For he tried to enchant my sister and ruin her!"

"Where? You bastard, where?" Eddie shrieked as she gave the magician a good shake.

"In my ring," Regan sighed as Kelly pulled him out of Eddie's furious grasp. It was just as well; at this point Eddie's hands ached to wring the life out of Regan's neck. It was a terrible but beguiling feeling and she shuddered at it. She wrenched the ring off of Regan's hand before anyone could dare to attempt to take it from her.

"I want my brother to be able to defend himself!" Kelly cried as she drew him near again. The man collapsed into sleep in her embrace. "I want to hear his side when he's fully awake and no longer drugged!"

Nejem looked like she was going to argue with this when another voice from the bottom of the stairs intervened.

"We know where Naoise of Lake Santos is, and the truth, even if Regan's sister cannot accept it." Dougal opined. He was holding Matthew upright with the man's arm over his shoulders. Sarah was grasping the railing and smiled gently at Eddie. Dougal looked at her as well before looking back at Nejem. "And that's all Eddie wished to know."

Nejem snorted at that but seemed to accept it as Stan helped her stand again.

"Then we shall wait, I imagine Matthew Moreno needs some sort of medical attention at least," Nejem huffed and Matthew seemed to wince as she pointed out his infirmity.

"What happened?" Kelly called down.

"I think I had a run-in with one of your brother's friends," Matthew grimaced.

"Slaves," Stan corrected.

"And Eddie too?" Kelly asked as she looked back at the other woman after frowning at Stan.

"I'm not hurt." Was all Eddie was willing to say about her blood stained face and hands.

"And Eddie needs to free Naoise." Dougal continued as he looked up at the young woman. "So he can tell _his_ side of the story."

Eddie closed her eyes, knowing she had already heard it and had proclaimed it as false as Kelly had Regan's confession. She could not ignore the evidence she had at last been given however and perhaps Kelly would be forced to do the same. Eddie walked up to the top of the stairwell. When she turned around Matthew was embracing Kelly. She looked down at the ring in the palm of her hand; its two tone surface was opaque and mocking. Had she been tricked? How could something so small possibly imprison a kelpie?

"How do I get him out?" She finally asked.

"Why, you go in and get him." Dougal responded readily as he ascended the stairs with the slumbering Regan in his arms.

"Eh? How?" Eddie stepped back to let him by. Dougal glanced at her over his shoulder.

"You just go in." Eddie frowned at that and looked down at the ring, wondering if he meant there was a way to make it bigger or open it.

"I think I need help…" she admitted with a frustrated sigh.

"Och, probably," Dougal agreed as he entered a bedroom. Eddie followed him with a blink.

"What do you mean?" She asked as he laid the enchanter on a bed. Kelly hovered nearby with Matthew. It was apparent she meant to assist with the vigil. Eddie knew she must leave it to Rhona to explain all of this. It was for Matthew to hold Kelly's hand on the rim of the world however.

"My ring may protect you from a trick of sight but it will not allow you to see through such an elaborate enchantment. It would be easier for you to enter the ring with a touch of magic at your disposal," Dougal clarified. Eddie frowned incredulously.

"I have to actually go _into_ it?" She muttered. She looked down at the ring with a blink. Eddie shook her head. Was her head really thick enough to shatter this spell? Was that all there really was to being a magician? She hesitated, turning the ring over her fingers.

"Talk about a puzzle," Sarah breathed as she wrapped her arms around Eddie's shoulders. She looked down at the ring with narrowed eyes. Her hold tightened and she put her forehead on Eddie's neck. "But I know you didn't come all the way here just to stand on the edge."

Eddie clenched her hand and straightened her shoulders. Sarah was right. She hadn't come all the way here to stare at the darkness and hope it would abate. She would give Naoise that sunrise she had promised him, by her own hands.

"Where do I get the magic to enter the ring?" She asked Dougal. The kelpie glanced back at her as Kelly set Matthew down upon the sofa in the room. She softly gave Stan directions where to find her doctor’s bag. Eddie finally let go of the comforting embrace of Jai's bowl. She set the frog upon the end table next to the sofa. He hopped up to the edge of the bowl and blinked his bulbous eyes. He may have been pleading with her. He was suffered a gentle and remorseful pat to the head.

"Well, from one of us. Rhona, I, or perhaps the jinn if he is so inclined." Dougal speculated. The fae held up a finger however. "A kiss tinged by spirit blood. Understand however that it is a gift, and you already know the nature of such gifts, do you not?"

Eddie nodded, she was well aware that gifts that could not be refused could only be paid for in pounds of flesh. Such a kiss had already bound her to Naoise far more tightly than the bridle ever could have.

"I will not give such a gift," Rhona countered from where she radiated in a corner. She drew her pelt to her shoulders. "Wild and reckless princess who gave me my freedom and dignity back; we are even now, and though he is your beast, Naoise of Lake Santos is still my enemy."

"Poison runs from any sweet lips," The jinn warned from where he sat his mistress in a chair. His shinning eyes narrowed to glimmering flints of light. "You would do better to pray, dear girl, and draw your strength from the angels."

"Och, but would your god answer the prayer to free a demon?" Dougal shook his head. He turned towards Eddie. "Well, come near lass. It looks like it has to be me, and may your heart stay true even with our blood running in your veins."

Dougal extended his hand and Eddie reached to take it when another voice interceded.

"Wait, Eddie!" Stan cried out. He stepped forward and gently took her wrist. "Let me give you the magic."

"Stan?" Eddie's eyebrows raised and the young man closed his eyes. He held his other hand to his chest, as if waiting to catch something. From his heart a glow suddenly illuminated the room, and within his hand the light solidified into a radiant crystal. Sarah stepped back with a gasp and Eddie followed her.

"It's Dougal's magic really," Stan explained earnestly. "He gave it to me on the day of MacGregor's funereal, in case I needed to protect you."

"So sure you want to give that away?" Dougal asked. His eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms. "I will not give you such a gift again if you're going to hand them out like party favors."

"I've decided I don't need it," Stan explained. Dougal blinked in surprise. "It's bad for humans to use spirit magic right? I mean, I could end up like this asshole."

He pointed a thumb at the unconscious Regan and shrugged. "So I think I want to have my own magic one day. I want to only rely on myself. And it's better for Eddie isn't it, if she gets it from me over you?"

Dougal looked a little floored by this revelation, as if uncertain whether he should lay flat or if he should lay _Stan_ flat. The kelpie of the Via Verde however was never one for offense when he could laugh instead. He just shook his head mirthfully.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." The fae smirked. "But I will warn you of this lad, not all of your sacrifices will be this easy."

"But I have probably avoided my first mistake," Stan countered and Dougal gave him a flat look. He offered the small taste of magic to Eddie and she opened her palm to receive it. It fluttered like a small bird upon her hand and with a deep sense of gratitude she opened her heart to it. The magic swelled it her breast and encased her heart with its livid pulsing.

"I can do it," she breathed and kissed Stan's hand in relief. He blushed and Sarah laughed softly. She removed the ring from Eddie's hand and placed it upon her finger.

"And I will keep the ring safe, until you return." She promised her friend. "Because as much as I hate Naoise like ol' Rhona over there, I did promise to help you."

"Be warned Eddie, this is no small undertaking," Nejem said from across the bed. "You will be in that ring as long as it takes you to find Naoise. If you are unable to break through Regan's spells, you will be imprisoned as well, and unlike a spirit, you would die from starvation in such a place."

"What?" Matthew started and rose up from the sofa. "And Naoise cannot get out on his own? A faerie? No! Eddie don't go! Let one of these spirits handle it then! It's too dangerous for you!"

"Only Eddie can remove the bridle as she placed it on Naoise's head," Dougal countered.

"Then go with her!" Matthew snapped. Dougal sighed.

“Here’s something you need to learn lad, when it comes to siblings,” the kelpie frowned, “you have to let them make their _own_ mistakes.”

He put his hands on his hips. “Naoise and I aren’t much like the rest of our lot anymore. We have names. We call each other ‘brother’, not because of blood but because of how long we’ve been in each other’s business. Maybe I even love him. I wouldn’t flatter myself to think he feels the same but when I needed help he gave it. I’ll help him by watching over his enemy when he cannot and not let him escape.”

“But it was _his_ choice to bind himself to a human woman. As it was once mine to do so with a human man. Only she can save him, and if she fails to do so, it was his mistake.” He closed his eyes and gave a small sneer. “And do you have no faith in your sister? I have some in my brother.”

Matthew quivered with rage and if not for his wounded side he likely would have broken his fist on the fae's face.

"Matthew," Eddie addressed him pleadingly. "I came all this way for this alone. It was my choice and I will do this without putting anyone else in danger."

"You can at least accept help!" Matthew turned on the jinn next. "Are you going to tell me next your head is too far up your ass to help?"

"Naoise of Lake Santos is a godless demon, but if I am asked to save him I will try, as I must for all of Allah's creation. And He knows I have already thrown my lot into this." The jinn raised a hand at Matthew's cry however. "Nevertheless, I feel as if I would be no great help ultimately. These sorts of enchantments are woven out of illusion and emotion. I am a stranger to Naoise of Lake Santos's psyche. Eddie, who knows him, would be better suited to unbind him."

"Are you saying you be a burden over a help?" Matthew frowned.

"I can help her break the first and last barriers," the jinn answered. "But as for whatever holds Naoise of Lake Santos down, I doubt I could."

"If you would give me that help, I would accept it," Eddie answered hoping that her acquiescence would mollify Matthew into accepting. Her brother did recoil but the pained look in his eyes showed he still wished to protest; his eyes searched the air fruitlessly for a reason that would force her to not go. She went to him and gently wrapped her arms around him, mindful of his injury.

"I'll be careful," She smiled at him for she could really promise nothing else. She stepped back knowing this could very well be a farewell. Yet on the edge of the abyss she felt nothing but the wind rushing up from the darkness below, coaxing her to let everything go and fall into its embrace. She vowed to always remember her brother's face at this moment to carry it within her heart as a counter-weight to the magic that would throw her down into those depths. His look of resigned acceptance, the pain laced along the edges of his eyes, and the bitterness that made his throat clench and his mouth taut, this is what would make the darkness wretched and force her to seek the light. _This will not be the look you'll wear when you see me for the last time._

Her brother let her go with a kiss to the forehead and she cut her last ties to the collapsing world. She held her hand out to her companion and guide. Yusuf took her hand and enveloped her as a fine cloud of flickering flames; his fire that didn't burn and gave only gentle heat and light. It was the same fire that could flare as a bright inferno to blind and incinerate spirit but only embraced mankind in a cradling conflagration.

They spiraled down together, like banished falling stars, charging into the yawning maw of the abyss below. Eddie closed her eyes and grimaced at the screaming rush of air that raked over her body. The jinn's hold loosened however as they fell downwards and Eddie slipped away from him when he stopped and she did not.

"I can go no further!" he called down apologetically as she continued her heady fall into the chasm below. She tried to nod, to reassure him she didn't feel abandoned but all words and gestures were lost in the rushing wind from the depths below. She hit water headfirst but her neck was not snapped. She felt no pain at all as she broke the surface though the force of her fall felt like she had fallen from stories above.

She began to struggle for breath however in the cold and dark water. It was like her first dive into Lake Santos when she had broken the seal. Her hands clawed at her throat and there was no surface when she raised her face up. There was nothing but crushing depths above or below.

_But this is not ordinary water._ She recalled. This was not a lake, but a ring, a dungeon, the cavern that existed in all hearts. She still possessed Stan's magic that must allow her to breathe in this place of illusions. She dropped her hands from her struggling throat and unfurled the magic around her pounding heart. It pulsed into her lungs with a cloying throb. She inhaled deeply, not fatal water but life giving breath. Reassured she began to push herself even farther down into the crevasse.

She found Naoise by feel alone. She couldn't say how long it took her. It may have been hours, days, or years. She had swum beyond the hold of time with its predictable passage. Things held still here or were rushing by too fast to discern. It didn't matter however for in that second, week, century, her fingers were sliding down his face, taking in every nuance and its frigidity. He didn't respond to her warm touches and she realized he was either asleep or dead. Her hands glided down to his chest and embracing him she found his heartbeat. It was torpid but still beat wearily between the chains wrapped around his chest. She reached up to his neck where the bridle manifested. If Regan had ordered him to lay dormant then the bridle should break that spell. She tugged and it followed her fingers easily. She let the cursed object float away. The bonds of slavery could remain imprisoned for eternity.

Naoise awoke with a gasp. His chest heaved but even in his shock he couldn't break the chains around him. He tried to move his arms but though a frenzy of bubbles passed Eddie's face at the motion they too remained ensnared. Regan had bound the fae down with more than just the bridle.

"Eddie?" He asked in surprise. Eddie tried to answer him but at first she could only produce a warped gargle. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. _If I wish to speak here, I can, I can!_ The magic swam to line her throat and mouth with its pulse.

"Naoise! I came to rescue you!" She at last cried out into the chasm that carried no echo and swallowed everything within it.

"How did you get here?" It was dim but she could see from her close proximity he was staring at her like he had that night they had kissed in the dark, as if he was uncertain if she was real or the embodiment of his subconscious desires.

"I fell," she explained, which was more or less true. She wanted to tell him how regretful she was, how this had all been her fault, but they could not linger here. The apologies would have to wait until they broke the surface. She tugged at the chain but they did not break away like the bridle had. Regan had foreseen this then and the iron was his fail safe. Eddie bowed her head in frustration, what cleverness comes out of vindictiveness!

"There _must_ be a way." She mused as she drew her hand to her mouth and bit her finger.

"Why do you wish to free me?" Naoise asked with a tilt of his head. "You have removed the bridle as well. Do you not realize that when I am free I will be able to kill you? That you will be letting a monster back into the world?"

"Yes!" Eddie cried steadfastly. "That is the world I wish for."

Naoise made a noise of surprise as Eddie rested her forehead against his shoulder.

"Because that is the world that _should_ exist. None of these lies or illusions, only the simple fact that you saved my brother's life for no reason other than to spare me suffering." Naoise inhaled sharply and Eddie held onto him more tightly. "So I will free you in gratitude. But you must know this as well."

She moved back and looked into his eyes. "My life no longer belongs to you. After this, we’re even. If you come for my life, and I will not deny you the right, I will protect it. And, Naoise, I will not imprison you again.”

With that would be the ultimatum between them. He looked away first, with no tangible thread of emotion.

"Why would I end a life I protected?" Eddie swallowed at the question. "I don't do needless things."

Eddie felt something break within to hear that, the resounding crack rattled her bones and heart. Saving her life had not been a needless thing. Her life had worth to him. Her happiness had been worth the risk of imprisonment. And betrayed, alone, and in darkness, he only asked "why" she desired to free him.

"You protected my life," Naoise continued as he was apparently confused by her sorrowing reaction. "That night when you didn't stand by and let Rhona of the Ocean free you. When you pleaded with Regan to have mercy for myself. I knew then you cared about me. But even then you didn't ask for anything in return."

Eddie looked up at him in wonder. He was wearing his usual passive expression as if all this emotion was voiced from some distant and incomprehensible place. As if it didn't belong to him but some other self. Yet Eddie knew however the self he was speaking from was the side that only she had ever seen. It was the side of unconditional love.

"You protected my life, so I will protect yours. Because you are of more worth to me alive than dead." He concluded succinctly. Eddie could have burst out laughing at this taciturn confession of devotion but if she had wanted a poet she wouldn't have given her heart to the uncivilized lake monster. Instead she merely sighed and smiled through her tears that were lost in the dark water.

“But I…am not what I was in doing this.” Eddie frowned at his pained look. “I cannot kill you who threatened my waters. I am no longer a guardian if I cannot subdue a threat. I cannot exist in freedom now.”

“Oh, Naoise,” Eddie sighed. She was never going to be able to divorce him from his role. She gently cradled his face. “Listen, it’s going to be a new world. One I’m going to re-make. I’m going to take this place from Regan. You, Jai, and Rhona, all get to start over. I’m breaking the cycle. Do you remember when you courted me at the theme park?”

He nodded, “and you remember John Chang the God of the Place?”

“When I promised to never return he gave me back the rings you refused,” he informed her.

“Yeah, he was a nice guy, wasn’t he?” she smiled. “That’s who I’m gonna be. But as I don’t have a mandate from the Jade Emperor or whatever, I need help. I want you to be my lake guardian Naoise. I want you and Dougal to keep this place safe like you always have. I want Jai to be the prince he always wanted to be, and I want Rhona to be her own person.”

She let his face go, “and I’m no longer a threat am I, if I’m a guardian?”

“Doing such a thing however,” his mouth turned down in a grimace. “You’ll never know peace again.”

“Honestly Naoise, I think that possibility was gone the moment you thundered into my life.” She sighed and he gave her a flat look. She waved her hands indignantly. “My choice, okay? And you can chose to accept it or not. You’re being made an offer.”

“I will resume my function.” He answered succinctly. She kissed his cheek.

“Then, let’s get out of here.” She frowned at his chains.

She withdrew the knife Nejem had given her. In the dark water of the cavern the blood upon the blade was lost but perhaps the residual power remained. The silver blade was stained again as Eddie glided it across the palms of her hands.

"What are you…?" Naoise asked as the blood trail spilled across the water.

"My own spell." She answered as she closed her eyes and wrapped her wounded hands around the chains. Dougal’s magic purified by Stan still beat in her chest but what she called upon now was the residue of the blood Naoise had given her. It was her love for him, the passion of the Earth itself, violate and raw. She willed her blood to become an inferno as potent as the jinn's that burned across all magic. That it would melt the iron in her hands into impotent sludge. She opened all the doors to the truth; that Naoise of Lake Santos would become her own champion!

"Eddie?" Naoise called in alarm as the red haze around them grew larger. She shook her head however and shut out his other protests. Her hands ached from their exertion and her head grew light from the blood loss. Yet as she felt the iron begin to warp and soften she clenched her hands hard enough to shatter every bone in them. The chains fell away with no sound, only to be lost among the depths like the bridle.

Naoise gave a hoarse scream as he slipped away from the iron and he pulled Eddie into his charge to the surface. The woman was barely able to feel satisfaction that she had released the thundering body below her as her breath was stolen by their suffocating ascent. She grasped the wild mane of the freed water horse incognizant of any pain or discomfort. She could only feel her heart beating in her throat as the water and then air rushed over her body. As they neared the final barrier however a pair of warm hands reached for her and the jinn pulled them both through to their landing.

She fell back to the Earth and landed on the floor of the bedroom she had exited from. She rolled a few times before stopping at the foot of the bed. She sat up in a daze and noticed first of all that she was completely soaked.

Naoise was standing over her with the jinn still perched on his back. Eddie coughed, clearing her lungs of excess water and perhaps magic also. As Eddie raised a trembling hand up and stroked Naoise's muzzle she vaguely recalled she had ridden him as a horse out of the ring. Their tender moment lasted only as long as the kelpie apparently needed to see she was all right. The next second he raised his head up and snarled at the occupant of the bed. Kelly screamed as she realized at the same moment Eddie did that Naoise intended to kill Regan.

"Naoise, stop!" she screamed but she knew she couldn't prevent it. He was no longer wearing the bridle. He had warned her that she would be releasing a monster back into the world; a beast that think of revenge before anything else. She closed her eyes and put her hands over her ears.

When she realized that there were no horrific sounds of bones breaking or organs being devoured behind her she lowered her hands. She looked up to see the human Naoise glowering down at her. She put her hands down as she looked at him in total amazement. His upper lip twitched as he bared his fangs between tight jaws as their eyes met.

"You told me to stop, and give me no reason why?" He demanded. His eyes narrowed. "That makes me think there is no reason at all!"

"Don't kill him!" Eddie repeated and swallowed as she tried to find words to put into a somewhat coherent order. "I told him to not kill you when you were weak and helpless, so don't do the same! He's drugged because we had to get the truth out of him! Breaking the cycle remember?!"

Naoise snorted at this. "So I can kill him when he wakes up?"

Eddie hesitated and Nejem answered for her.

"Perhaps, sir, if we decide on capital punishment for this." She explained and cast a disapproving eye at the standing Kelly. "His sister is now the Wise Woman of the Santos Basin; it will be she who decides what we'll do with him."

"I'm not, I'm not," Kelly shook her head and looked away from Naoise.

"Well if it will be me then," Nejem mused, “I’ll let you eat him Naoise of Lake Santos. _I_ believe in capital punishment."

"No!" Kelly turned on Nejem with a hysterical scream. "I won't allow you to do any such thing!"

"He imprisoned me. He used false pretenses to do so. He used Eddie to do so." Naoise coolly responded but his voice rang with a vindictive undertone. "Why should the wise woman judge him when she loves him?"

"Because we are best judged by those that love us," Eddie countered. Naoise gave her a glower and she glared right back at him. "I judged you to be worthy of not being slaughtered when you were helpless and weak. You have judged me worthy of life despite my selfish mistakes. Kelly can judge if her brother deserves to die for she understands his motivations the most!"

Naoise gave Eddie a long look that could as easily been as disgusted as impressed. He stepped back however and looked at Kelly. "Know this then wise woman, if you don't kill him, I one day _will_."

"Tell her what Regan did the night the last MacGregor heir died," Dougal urged. Naoise obliged and as he related his story to Kelly Eddie drifted over to the sofa. Matthew was lying on his side to expose the injured one. Kelly had just begun to stitch it when they had literally burst out of the ring as Sarah related. She and Stan had apparently been assisting Kelly in her task. Sarah cried out when she noticed the blood stains on Eddie's ears. Eddie raised her bloody palms and realized she had left the marks when she had covered her ears.

"Oh god, what did you to do that required that?" Sarah moaned in disapproval as she bandaged Eddie's hands.

"Broke some chains," Eddie shrugged. Sarah glanced at her and Matthew pushed himself up on his elbow.

"So Naoise is free?" He asked.

"I left the bridle in the ring." Eddie answered as she sat beside him. Her excitement finally caught up with her as a sudden dizziness.

"And you made it," Matthew gently patted her wrist and she smiled at him.

"Yeah. We made it."

"And what now?" Stan asked as he looked at where Kelly was giving Naoise a side long look of suspicion as he spoke to her. Eddie sat back with a sigh.

"We wait for Regan to wake up I suppose."

"Lucky bastard," Stan huffed. "He's the only one who's going to sleep tonight."

Kelly stepped away from Naoise to finish attending to Matthew. Eddie collected the kelpie from where he lingered at the foot of the bed. He surely would have begun to pace at the edge of it like a restless predator if she hadn't. They found a corner to sit in from where Eddie could watch Matthew's operation. Eddie gently refused the offer of dry and clean clothes from Kelly. She watched her brother bite down on a cloth for about ten minutes and then laugh off the pain as "no worse" than a tattoo.

She began to waver and Naoise noticed the paleness of her lips and the dullness of her eyes. He gently took her chin between his fingers and raised them to his lips. It was not a deep kiss but he slipped the tip of his tongue along her lips, smearing them with a small amount of his blood. Eddie felt an urge to refuse the gift but she felt so light-headed and weak she found herself licking it up before she even truly thought about it. She gave a sigh as her body instantly felt relieved, she was still exhausted, but she no longer felt the nausea of blood loss.

“You can’t keep feeding me your blood,” she told him lowly as she looked away from Matthew’s frown. He had not seen the blood however, only the kiss. “I don’t want…I don’t want to be intimate with you like that.”

Naoise nodded, “I know it’s hard for your kind to not get drunk on magic so to speak. But after what you endured….this will help you along. You expended a great amount of magic, mine and your own. You were nearly empty so to speak. I would not see you suffer more for me.”

“Ah,” Eddie laid her head in the crook of his long neck. She fell asleep on Naoise's shoulder after that. She only dozed for perhaps half an hour. Nevertheless it was enough to refresh her to help Sarah and Stan make dinner and take Kelly's offer to find some dry clothes in her bedroom.

Naoise refused to leave his prey and remained sitting in the corner like a stalking predator. The similarity was not lost on Eddie. She sighed softly as she walked to Kelly's bedroom. She chose a simple red dress to borrow. Kelly, while about the same height as Eddie, was a broader woman with a fuller bust. The dress slouched around Eddie more like a blanket than evening wear and that was fine. She preferred comfort to appearance.

She joined Sarah and Stan in making the evening meal. Sarah gave herself a personal tour of the pantry and wine cellar with impressed sounds to express her distaste at the excesses of the wealthy. After the red-head had taken a full inventory of the ingredients available they decided to make grilled cheese sandwiches with all the exotic cheeses they had found. Eddie selected a few raw steaks for the kelpies and hazarded a guess that Rhona would prefer raw salmon to a cheese sandwich.

They brought the plates up and Eddie was struck by how tense the room was. The taut strands of side long looks and rigid body posture could almost cut. It must have always been but she had not noticed in her earlier lethargy. The conversations that flowed around the meal were circumspect and strained. Even Jai retreated to the far end of his bowl. The ruined prince had no desire to play silent witness to the bonds of civility corroding.

Matthew and Sarah tried to drain the currents of discomfort by carrying on a witty exchange. It was apparent however both Rhona and Kelly didn't care to have Naoise in the same room, though Kelly likely desired that everyone save Matthew leave. Naoise however had already announced his intention to execute her brother. It may have been a common unspoken sentiment but only Naoise would be so straightforward. Naoise for his part ignored everyone else save Regan and Eddie.

And Eddie was ready to leave.

The crushing atmosphere of the room pressed down on every inch of Eddie's body the realization of what she had done. Tomorrow a man would face judgment if he deserved to live or die. He would be judged by the person he loved most, and loved him most. Eddie had allowed for Kelly to save herself but now she may face an even worse fate than being the princess of a false kingdom. Tomorrow she may lower the axe on her older brother's neck.

Eddie had not intended to participate in such cruelty but she had always known everything came with a price. Regan's paradise had been the hell of many. He was the last pillar of the old kingdom and the new one may be built upon his bones and flesh. Her world would be no fantasyland with offerings of joy. Eddie had desired a world based on the truth, but the truth is merciless. It heard the cries of none, granted no wish, and was heedless of the suffering it causes. What Eddie had wished for was unyielding.

This night hung suspended between the old and the new, lies and truth, love and hatred. In this night of so much despair and apprehension, she would forge a future from the fate she had chosen. She leaned over and kissed Naoise's neck after the dinner was over.

"Come with me," she whispered into his ear. He glanced back at her in question. She smiled and stood up to leave the room.

"I'll watch your prince for you!" Sarah called with a laugh as Eddie reached the doorway. She blushed which chased away whatever doubts there may have been about her intentions. Sarah smirked and Matthew resolutely looked away. He apparently remembered his promise however and said nothing as Naoise chose to follow.

"What is it?" Naoise asked as they walk away from the door.

"I want to apologize." Eddie lowered her eyes. "For everything."

"Do you believe I have no fault in what happened?" Naoise asked. Eddie shook her head.

"I think we were both too busy being petty and afraid to stand together when we should have," She looked up at him. "I didn't think you loved me the way I loved you. I understand if you no longer do, and we are even now. But I…still want to watch that sunrise with you."

Naoise stepped forward and gently cupped her face. She leaned into his hand. He always felt cold but the touch of death could as easily be one of life.

"We still have a few hours," he pointed out. He glanced back at the room. Eddie's expression fell a little.

"Yeah, but, will you spend those few hours with me, or him?" she challenged. She leaned against him, pushing her hips into his in invitation. Naoise grunted and apparently forgot all about Regan, his prey, his revenge, and his pride. He grasped Eddie by her hips and the next thing she knew she was hanging over his shoulder. She blinked in surprise as she looked at the ground then began to laugh.

"Hey, put me down in a bed, not that damned lake, I've been dunked enough for one day!" she ordered. Naoise raised an eyebrow at her but obeyed, opening the next door they came to. By its elegant design and stark details it was the Seele matriarch's room. The wedding picture on the dresser confirmed it. Eddie made a small noise of fear.

"Not in-" She gasped as she fell on her back onto the bed as she was let down. Naoise pinned her and she gave her last conscious thought about infringing on Katharine's dignity as he started kissing along her neck. _Oh, well, she won't be home again until Friday. Plenty of time to wash the sheets before then._

She didn't notice at all he left the door open.

She wrapped her arms around his chest and matched his kisses with her own. She gasped as his teeth grazed her skin. She bit her lower lip knowing it had been inevitable he would be a biter and she twisted her hands into his hair to warn him to not draw blood. She hissed in scolding when he began to tear the dress. She wriggled out of it but by the time she was exposed she was exasperated.

In nothing but her still damp underwear she overthrew the beast. She pushed her weight into his shoulder and flipped their positions. Naoise snorted in surprise but he remained perfectly still as he watched Eddie fiddled with the clasp of her bra. He waited in anticipation with his hands on her hips as she slid the garment slowly away. She sat atop of him in the moonlight exposed and unafraid. His hands followed the contour of her body to her breasts.

"Gently," she warned. He raised an eyebrow but followed his instruction and slowly fondled her with languid movements of his thumbs. They didn't speak again during the entire encounter. Naoise seemed incline to let Eddie do as she pleased to his body, watching her movements with a reserved curiosity that at first almost seemed mocking. When he responded to her touches and prodding however with passionate vulnerability she knew his expressions were genuine and not challenging.

 

He was endowed as any man between the legs. His erection invited her care and touch. It was a monolith of his exposure. He gave a small whine as she leaned down to give that first lick. Vulnerability shuddered through his tense and needing body. His fingers excitedly found her clit as she straddled his thigh. She cringed as she realized no matter how much she suckled and he engorged, his flesh lacked human warmth.

She rocked against his hand, trying to heat herself as much as she could before she took the final plunge. His fingers were frigid however and burned as no man’s could. She shuddered as she orgasmed from the strange sensation alone, the first time she had by fingering.

She looked up at him after she had finished trembling. He gave a small sigh as the head of his penis began to glisten. Eddie was thankfully on the pill, and she could enjoy the feel of that natural lubricant. Even as she tried to not contemplate if human birth control worked on magic sperm. He urgently grasped at her hips to bring her forward to finish their coupling. She gave a breathless laugh, he was as helpless as any man in this second.

She took him slowly as if stepping into his lake inch by inch as the cold water flooded around her. Once she was in the depth of him however she found her body adjusting to the chill. She eased into rocking against him and when he saw she was comfortable, he let himself move against her. Their movements became a violent tide of furiously ebbing and crashing flow.

It was gratifying to feel his hands clenching her waist as he labored below. To see his throat clench and his chest strain as he throbbed between her legs. That she could see all within him that was needy and unreserved. To watch the marks she had left upon his body turn florid in her embrace, and to feel his upon her body sting as she struggled against him. To know in this moment he was thinking of her alone, as she was him, and this was their shared and vibrant world. It lasted only minutes, but its existence was consuming.

Eddie smirked as she gently ran the back of her hand down Naoise's cheek after his final collapse. He caught her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist. She blinked at the tender gesture and smiled. The monster had become a guardian, her other half. He would not kill her, but her life was his all the same, it would be a shared existence of one life. She dismounted with a sigh and stretched out beside her new lover.

"Your hands are bleeding," Naoise muttered. He rolled his head to look at her. She raised her hands and found what he said was true, the blood stains had grown more livid and wider during their love making.

"Ah, so they are." Eddie rolled onto her stomach. She put her chin on the cool pillow. "Probably shouldn't have done that."

"Regretful?" Naoise asked as he rubbed his forehead and glanced at her. Eddie kicked his leg a little.

"Not at all." She smiled and Naoise didn't return it. Instead he drew her into his arms.

"Stay with me then, if you wish, because you love me. And even if you no longer do, I will always guard your place." Naoise said quietly with an almost remorseful undertone. Eddie knew they were both stepping off before a deep chasm. If they flew it was only because of their trust in each other.

"Well, I think I'll hang around until I die. And who knows? Maybe afterwards the Jade Emperor will give me my own mandate," Eddie laughed. Naoise gave her his usual blank look that was then lost in her neck while the kelpie sighed heavily. She ran a hand through his hair and smiled at the waterweed tangled around her fingers. “But even if not, Naoise, I will always be with you. I promise.”

He didn’t look up as he murmured, “we’ll always be bound together, you and I.”

For better or for worse. Eddie laid back. She nervously glanced at him however.

“Um…Naoise, do you know anything about how…well, how half-fae kids are conceived?” she asked with hot cheeks. He blinked at her and frowned. She knew she really should have asked about this beforehand. As usual in these sort of matters however she had become swept up in the moment.

“I am sorry, did you wish to conceive just now?” he asked her.

“Oh no! The opposite!” She cried. She bit her lip when she realized how that sounded. She pushed herself up on her elbow. “I mean-! Just not yet! Not for a few years!”

“I thought so.” Naoise shook his head. “Don’t be concerned about it. Unlike with humans, for you to carry my child, it would take an enchantment. I would need to will it.”

“Oh.” Eddie blinked. She laid back down. “So you’ll wait until I say so?”

“Aye. And even then, it may take a few tries before it takes.” Naoise reassured her. “It is also a matter of your own body’s willingness, especially as you are a full blooded human.”

“But, it can happen?” She asked softly.

“It will if you truly desire it.” He smiled and kissed her cheek. She contemplated his words for a few seconds.

“Then, how did Regan happen?”

“Because Domhnall of the Sidhe, his father, truly desired it, and unfortunately as his mother had fae blood her body was more willing to accept that enchantment.” Naoise sighed. He nuzzled her neck. “I would not like to speak about such things right now. We have some time yet before we need to worry about such things.”

“Yeah.” Eddie sighed in agreement.

Her hands stropped bleeding. They wandered the body of the sentinel besides her in tender affection. She no longer feared leaving stains in her wake but only residual memories that would remain with the kelpie for eternity. She would likely bare scars upon her palms from her act of love. His scars would lay much deeper, unseen, unknown to anyone but himself.

When the dawn finally ignited the horizon Eddie awoke in its rosy haze. Naoise was already awake and took her into his arms. They watched the sun appear and begin its eternal climb into the sky silently. Eddie laid her head onto Naoise's neck and he held her close.

Naoise relaxed against her. He was like the weight of her responsibility now. She had to follow through, whatever the dawn brought. That would be the cost of every sunrise from now on.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wrapping up all the loose ends.

There was always choice and perhaps that's all there was in this cruel and indifferent world.

She could abandon her brother. Likely no one would stop her if she tried to flee. She could forsake this responsibility suddenly thrust about her, unwanted. She could go somewhere else and be someone else. She could restart her life.

But who would she be? She didn't know. She had always defined herself by how those around saw her. "I am the sister of Regan Seele". "I am the daughter of Michael and Lorna Seele". "I am the fiancée of Matthew Moreno." "I am your doctor." "I am your acquaintance".

She didn't know who "Kelly Seele" could be without these mirrors. Would she cease to exist? Who would take on this personality and life without her?

 _I wish to remain Kelly Seele._ That was who she was. She had never desired to be anyone else. Kelly Pearl Seele however was someone she had not fully known.

"Kelly Seele is a wise person because she has Sight."

"Kelly Seele was placed under an enchantment as a child to make her blind."

"Kelly Seele's mother wished for her to be a normal woman with a normal life."

"Kelly Seele's brother is a magician."

"Kelly Seele's mother died in vengeance."

"Kelly Seele's brother crafted a world for her where she would never know pain or suffering."

"Kelly Seele has been living a lie."

Whose story was this? Had her life been nothing but an invented fairy tale? Had she been living at all when she had been so detached from reality? Or had she just been dreaming? Had her feelings of incompleteness been nothing but the lucid parts of her dream? Had those repressed feelings been her inverted conscious crying out, warning that one day this world would collapse?

 _I didn't want to wake up._ She hadn't wanted to wake up from her dream now. Why could it not have lasted past this suffering and sorrow? A sleeper has no choice when their dream will die however. If she had remained asleep she would have lost Matthew. She had met him in her dream and he was the only thing that remained untouched by reality. He was the same as always; brash, headstrong, tender, and concerned. When everyone else and everything else had been warped in the wakeful dawn Matthew remained whole and inviolate.

Is this why Regan had wanted to kill him?

She recoiled from the thought again and again. She had vowed to not pass any judgment on Regan until he could speak for himself. As the stories were told however and the testimony began to blaze forth it became harder and harder to not muse on the impossible. Was her brother really a murderer? An abuser? Someone who had brought so much unhappiness to so many people?

If only there was a way she could remain asleep forever and never face this horrible choice or any guilt ever again.

She had spent the night in a quixotic and detached state, beyond all sorrow and pain. She was simply numb in every facet of her being. Torture created tolerance for any sort of anguish. Her mind retreated from reality. It only looked out in a disassociated haze as inwardly it clawed for the final shreds of the dream. There was not even a scrap however that had not been exposed to harsh light. The internal struggle was only more howling in the receding darkness.

Was this new self-awareness a gift or a curse? The victims were asking her to be their champion. Was it cowardice or mercy they had given her this choice? That it was she who would bear the guilt and pain of judgment? She had not suffered in Regan's world. Was this why she was being asked to suffer now?

 _I won't run away._ By the time she had the thought the sun had already begun to rise. Kelly lifted her head and knew her brother would rouse soon. Her body ached from exhaustion but it didn't reach her mind.

She closed her eyes. Was this the pain of living? How could she have been alive before now, when she had been living a stinted existence based in lies? Her mother and brother had wanted her to walk a path that would have lead nowhere; without pain, sadness, or true happiness. It would have been nothing but the meaningless existence of a fish in a bowl that could only travel around and around and never go anywhere.

 _I wish to live._ And because she did she must accept all the suffering that comes with real life. She had shattered her pendant and all her hope of living without pain or fear.

Who was this person, Kelly Seele? Who could see the spirits and the entire world? Who was the Wise Woman of the Santos Basin? Would she kill her own brother? She didn't know. She could only _see_.

Her hand slid down to Matthew's wrist. Upon her wrist was the bracelet Eddie had given her. It still glowed in soft violet hues when she touched him. It had been the first small piercing of truth's light in the darkness. The kelpie had called her with it. Somehow she had managed to hide it from Regan or it had been enchanted to escape his detection. She had allowed the dream to be torn. It was she who had killed the dream of her older brother by speaking to the monster at the end of the world. Perhaps that too is why she should judge him; she who had killed his world.

She raised her head up at Regan's stirring. There were only five others in the room now; herself, Rhona, the older wise woman, and Matthew. The other four had gone to bed a few hours before and the other kelpie had excused himself around midnight, strangely uninterested in the on-going suffering of the family that had once enslaved him. It was likely only she, Nejem, and Regan needed to be present but Rhona and Matthew remained. Matthew to support her, Rhona to perhaps do the same, or to watch silently as her lover's children destroyed one another.

As Regan groaned and seemed to struggle out of his slumber however the kelpie called Naoise appeared in the doorway. Eddie hovered behind him, still in that red dress like a livid omen of an impending apocalypse, in the hallway. The fae narrowed his dark eyes at Kelly but didn't step into the room. Kelly had a feeling he was only making sure Regan didn't try to escape. She sighed lowly, the beast was terrifying to behold but it seemed as if Eddie did have some modicum of control over him. He had warned he would kill Regan if Kelly didn't, and perhaps it was inevitable. It wouldn't happen today however, Regan was not answering to a grudge, but to his crimes alone.

She had power and she knew already she must remain unyielding in the face of the immortal.

Regan awoke and emptied his stomach of the putrid contents of the brew. He looked up blearily. Rhona had warned her that he would have no recollection of the interrogation, as Eddie had had no memory of her drugging. His eyes went wide as he noticed Nejem and then Naoise looming in the doorway. The kelpie showed Regan his fangs and he recoiled towards the headboard.

"You're free," he whispered in terror. Kelly felt her throat clench as she remembered Regan's lament that MacGregor's blood had been nothing but the appetizer for his flesh for the kelpie. _Why did you have to make such an enemy brother? Wasn't mother's suffering enough? Wasn't I important enough that you forget revenge?_

The time for mourning had passed however as the sun rose higher and drenched the room in a red haze. The new dawn was breaking.

"Regan," Kelly directed his attention towards him. She licked her lips and whispered, "So am I."

The man leaned forward and looked upon her bare neck. He gasped and shook his head. "No, no Kelly, who did that?"

"I did." She replied staunchly.

"How could you?" he asked in utter pain. "Mother didn't want it! You will only know such unhappiness! She only wanted you to escape the curse of our family!"

"Mother is dead!" Kelly screamed back, impressed by the sound of her own voice. She recoiled and stepped back but avoided Matthew's arms. She had to stand by herself now. "She threw her life away, didn't she? But you still thought her wishes should be carried out? What good was it for me to live like this?"

"You can answer that for yourself." Regan countered. He grimaced and sank back onto his pillows. "Aren't you happy like this Kelly? You're a doctor, accomplished, with nothing but a splendid life ahead of you. Do you think it be this way if you could have seen spirits all along? If you had to engage in their struggles?"

He rolled onto his side and gave her an earnest look. "You know what happened to mother then? How I was conceived? Do you know she wanted to spare you from that sort of experience? She only wanted to save you, and I only wanted that too."

"Then why kill Matthew?" Kelly argued. She could not give in to this feeling of surrender. Of not wanting to hear this answer. She felt tears of regret begin to fill her eyes but she forced herself on. "Why did you keep Rhona a slave when you could have freed her?"

"What was between me and Rhona is none of your business!" Regan snapped and Kelly gasped in shock. Regan had never looked this angry before. They had never quarreled like this before, not even when they were children. Regan had always been her gentle protector. She had never questioned him. She looked away and put a hand to her forehead. _Is this the first time I'm really seeing you?_

"It is my business." Kelly informed him as she looked at the carpet beneath her feet. "Because I am judging you to punish you for your actions."

She looked up as he gave a strained little laugh. She blinked at his mirthful expression. She wondered for a second if he had gone mad.

"Ah, is _that_ what this is? This sad little audience?" Regan asked as he spread his arms wide. He lifted his chin and looked directly at Matthew. "And would you have not killed _me_ , Matthew Moreno, if you knew I was going to betray and harm you sister?"

"You _did_ ," Matthew reminded him fiercely.

"Yes! And you slit my throat if you had the chance, wouldn't you?" Regan smirked. Matthew clenched his fists but said nothing to counter this. He turned on Nejem next.

"And Wise Woman Nejem, you hated me the day I was conceived. You're nothing but merciful, aren't you? To judge the child by the father? If I had become a priest I would have done no right by you!"

The wise woman remained impassive and let no emotion show on her face at the charge. Regan's eyes met Rhona's for a second but he chose to not include her in his shaming. He instead turned on the kelpie next.

"And you are nothing but a beast, Naoise of Lake Santos, as you always were. It is laughable I would be judged for striking at the person responsible for my mother's downfall!" He sneered. The woman besides the fae was next. "And your simpering little bride who gave you away when I reminded her you tried to kill her brother. Don't you still love him more than your groom Eddie? I have a good feeling you would have done the exact _same_ as I in the same position!"

The woman only glowered and Regan threw his head back with a mocking cry. "That I would be judged by such a group of hypocrites!"

"But only I am passing judgment," Kelly sternly reminded him. She raised her finger and pointed at Rhona. "What do you call her? Hypocrite? Or just 'victim'?"

"Traitor." Regan answered vehemently. He had nearly spat the word like venom. "Don't you dare trust her Kelly! She'll say she loves you one minute and then put her heel on your head the next! Like any fae!"

He sat up and looked at her pleadingly. "I only tried to kill Matthew for your own protection. Our blood carries your trait. Will he stay with you now after all this? Would he be able to stand a child who sees what they should not? His death was to bring about the imprisonment of that kelpie! Our mother would be avenged and you could have lived in happiness forever!"

"An existence without meaning," Kelly softly countered. She shook her head and opened her arms to embrace her trembling brother.

"I want you to know a life without hatred, without bitterness," she soothed, her hand stroking his hair. Regan stiffened but put his arms around her, holding her for the last time. "I wish you could be the brother I have known, and not the man you truly are."

"It was for you! Only for you!" he insisted with a sob into her shoulder.

And that would be his battle cry in the darkness. Kelly closed her eyes and began to softly weep as Regan lost his shape and form in her arms. His body softened, congealed, lost its human weight and presence. Kelly kept her eyes closed as she reached into the chasm within and pulled forth her brother's punishment. This was her power, the gift that could not be denied, and the curse that must be acknowledged. She passed judgment upon the man in her arms as her mother had the father of this poisoned soul.

In the end she was left with only a mournful black snake in her arms, helpless, and defenseless. She held the cold body to her own and cradled it into her warmth. It looked upon her with dark and unblinking eyes that reflected nothing but anguish.

"Because you are my brother, and because I still love you, and because your crimes were those of love, I won't kill you. You however have struck at the heels of man and spirit, and this is your true form. I want you to live as you truly are for fifteen years, and hopefully in that time you'll see what you _can_ be."

And that was her judgment. Kelly collapsed into small sobs at this new dawn but the vicious sun continued to rise. Light flooded the world and chased away the last remaining shadows. Nothing remained of the old world but the memories of those that had once lived there.

 _And this is who I really am._ The Wise Woman of the Santos Basin. Enchanted by a bitter mother and deceived by her serpent of a brother. She would take on all the guilt and suffering of the apocalypse.

For she had chosen life, and in making that choice, she could not look away from the truth.

#

But it was not all quite over.

A few hours after Regan's judgment Eddie was standing before the entrance to the cavern. In her arms she carried the glass bowl where a prince languished. She had not forgotten about him. She still remembered her responsibility to him. Eddie still had one last thing to do during this dawn.

"Hey, hey, I guess we can all go home now?" Sarah asked as she down the slight embankment that led to the house. Stan was not too far behind. It was after breakfast that had been more like a brunch in how late it had been. Kelly had been left to dry her tears with Matthew while the rest had recovered in their own ways from the upsetting scene. Sarah and Stan had only witnessed Regan's transformation. Neither had said anything immediately afterwards but Stan had asked a good question of Nejem when she had come out.

"So Kelly can do magic now?"

"No, the transformation was Regan's magic really. She merely reached into his heart and exposed him for what he is." Nejem glanced sternly up at him. "As only _she_ could."

"Magic sure is tricky," Stan had sighed and the old woman had left the youth to his own ruinations. Eddie had listened as well and had been musing on the quandary all morning.

"Yeah." She smiled at her friend and opened her free arm for a hug. "But I'm stayin' a bit longer."

"Is Matthew going to stay here?" Sarah asked as she wrapped her arms around the other girl.

"Mm. I imagine he may be here for a while," Eddie raised her face up towards the home. "They're still cleaning up."

By which she meant creating something of a cover story for Regan's sudden departure from the world of man. Kelly had insisted she would not lie about her brother's situation. So Yusuf had made his jaguar toy-size and placed it in Regan's room so that it could be said it had merely been moved. Rhona would look after him as an invisible guardian of the home so that it could be said he had departed with her.

Even free the selkie remained bound to the children of her mistress. It may have been a self-imposed punishment, a search for redemption, but she had made the decision to remain with them freely. Rhona had been unable to forget the chains that bound her for so long, and perhaps only when those binds were broken by death could she finally return to the ocean and her kin. Eddie had only showed her the path, but Rhona had to walk it.

The same could be said for Kelly.

"So I can move in to the back house?" Sarah winked. "I'm going to see my mom first of all, but I doubt I'm getting a warm welcome."

"You can stay for however long you need to," Eddie promised. They both knew Mrs. McAllister was not going to forgive this last stunt. A disappearance of two days and a supposed elopement was more than enough for estrangement in an already strained relationship. She stepped back and looked at the other woman seriously. "Be safe."

“You should tell me that when I call up ol' Gwennie," Sarah waved her hand flippantly. "She's going to burst my ear drum."

Eddie just shook her head and looked at Stan. "Are you going home too?"

"Yeah, but only for a little while I think. I'm planning on maybe going on a little trip with the money I've saved up. I think maybe I’m going to drop in on my uncle, the guy you met at the dance. I think…maybe he’s a magician too."

Eddie was more than a little surprised. "You want to become a magician?"

"I will never forget the feel of that magic in my heart," Stan put a hand over his chest. "I want to feel it again, but my own, not one that was borrowed or gifted. I…got to know Dougal a little. I didn’t need to necessarily see Seele’s end to know better.”

"Good luck then," Eddie could only hope Dougal had not inspired some sort of madness in Stan. Perhaps however this was also destiny moving its hand. She looked at them both. "And thank you for all that you did for me."

"I doubt you need to go that far. We both saw some things, did some things, we never could have otherwise. I made you that promise and I kept it, because you are my friend, and we're all Stan's friends too.” Sarah reminded her as she caught the hapless young man and rubbed his hair affectionately. Eddie just smiled and Sarah let Stan go as he squawked indignantly.

"May you never come after me," He glowered with his hands on his hips.

"You don’t control me!" She countered. Eddie laughed behind her wrist. Her fear of abandonment had made her unwilling to leave her brother before. Now she desired to establish a place in this world. To remain in this place that was her true home. To guard it with Naoise.

They may be scattered by the winds of destiny and fate but they were tied by their memories of the birth of this new world. No matter how far they were flung they would always be able to recall the nausea of a kelpie's gallop through pipes, and the beauty of a jinn's fire as it arced above the mountains. They could speak of things to each other that they could no one else. This would be their bond in the light.

"I'll be home in a few hours," she called after Sarah as she waved good bye to them both for now. After they had disappeared around the corner of the home Eddie set the bowl down on a boulder. Jai hopped up onto the rim and perched there to stare at her. The frog let out a croak of either discontent or fearful apprehension. Eddie tried to soothe him by smiling but it was hard to detect on a frog's face a look of calm. Jai just blinked at her beaming.

"Careful, you know amphibians don't fare well in the cold." Nejem warned as she hobbled her way towards the pair.

"I know," Eddie sighed. She looked up at the wise woman, she didn't see Yusuf but this probably meant he was resting in his bottle. "Are you leaving as well?"

"I think I've worn out my welcome," Nejem gently snorted. Eddie didn't dare to comment on the already strained relationship between the two wise women. Nejem had stayed on to help as she could but it was apparent as much as Kelly had tried to be civil she would need more time to be able to fully put the actions of everyone involved in her brother's judgment into perspective. It was why Eddie was avoiding her as well; she after all had demanded that Regan be exposed. Kelly was going through enough stress without being forced to acknowledge their changed relationships.

“And, Simon needs me.” Nejem softly added.

“Simon is your…husband?” Eddie guessed. Nejem nodded.

“He’s ill with pneumonia, but it’s his asthma that complicates things. Hazar has been handling his care when I’m gone, but, it’s hard on her too. She’s a student and she works full time.”

Eddie smiled, for she now knew the sort of sacrifices she too must make.

"Then let me thank you too," Eddie said with a small curtsy as she was still wearing the dress. Nejem shook her head.

"I could say the same to you," she said. She pulled her shoulders back. “I can see now maybe I was wrong to assume you couldn’t save yourself. I’ve seen a lot of tragedy in my time, so much….perhaps I had forgotten there is also triumph.”

Eddie inclined her head, “and I’m sorry that I was so proud I refused your help after that. I would have never gotten this far without your help. Things….probably would have been much easier for me if I had bothered to listen to you. So….can I call you sometime?”

Nejem gave her the number and commented, "I had come down to say good bye to the two lords of the lake and river, but I'll leave it to you. My taxi will be here in a few minutes."

She glanced at the bowl. "But what will you do with your frog prince?"

"Ah well," Eddie rubbed the back of her neck but decided to explain her quandary. "Remember when Regan called me by the shore? He told me that no one in our party knew how to create life, only destroy it. Regan created Jai, gave him life, but it was a shitty life. So I would re-make him, but this time, let him have his own life. He can be whoever the fuck he wants.”

“You’re going to forgive him?” Nejem knit her eyebrows together.

“I know Jai. I feel like he can do a lot of good but Regan had made him so afraid of life without him that he made a terrible mistake. And that’s okay. I have made a few terrible mistakes too and every time I got a second chance. So I think Jai deserves a second chance too.” Eddie shrugged.

Nejem blinked at this possibility and looked down at the little frog.

"Won't you ask one of the kelpies to help you then?"

"No, I've already tasted Naoise's blood. That was how we were bound. That’s how I broke the enchantment Regan had him under." Eddie upraised her wounded palms slightly. "I have no want to be an enchantress, only to grant the wish of this one frog."

Nejem gave her a long look. "You know you could be quite powerful. Naoise of Lake Santos is in love with you and that's far stronger than that bridle ever was."

"And because _I'm_ in love with _him_ , I won't use him like that. I re-made this world, and we’ll protect it together, but I will not be its queen or whatever like Regan was the master of his." Eddie softly countered as she drew her arms to her chest. Upon her finger was the ring that had imprisoned Naoise. Sarah had given it to her that morning, having no desire to be burdened by such a thing. Nejem glanced at the piece of jewelry and shrugged.

"Well, I say if the frog truly desires it, and you have enough residual magic from yesterday, you may manage it." She looked up at Eddie sternly. "Be careful though, you are inexperienced and if either one of you hesitates for a second, you'll end up with something neither one of you wanted."

Eddie nodded, but she had become far more used to risk taking these past few days. She gathered the frog into her hands and brought him close to her heart. To her surprise he leaned against her, as if in memory.

"Your greatest wish was to be human once wasn't it? I will make you human again, a man, a prince, if you will let me." She told him softly. “But you must understand that this is an act of pain. If you accept this magic, you’ve agreed to fulfill the wish of a guilty woman; to be the man she thinks you can be.”

The frog blinked at her, but he didn’t try to hop away and seemed to accept the proposition. Eddie sighed and could only hope this was how one could make a prince. She shut her eyes and tried to draw out of herself what faint beatings there still were of magic in her blood. She had bled nearly all of it out yesterday but small pearls still throbbed in niches along her veins.

Perhaps the intimacy she had shared with Naoise had made her more sensitive to their uncanny beating. This was not the raw passion of her bond with Naoise, but the gentle lacings of Dougal’s magic purified by his human favorite. It was far less dangerous than what she carried through her contract with Naoise, but perhaps just as consuming. It had bolstered her escape beneath the rage of her beloved’s magic. She drew these small pulses into her heart and reached out for the tiny fluttering heartbeat of the frog who wished to be a prince.

She tried to visualize the magic as hooks or threads as she reached out to the frog but instead found it was much more like a flood. It surged from her hands, causing them to bleed once again, and threatened to drown the frog. Eddie screamed for it to only seek out the wish, to give it form, to give it life. She let her mind only fill with one image, that of Jai Darzi as the Prince. She recalled Jai Darzi with his beautiful eyes that shone like honey in the sunlight, his slow smile, and unfaltering steps. She blazed with the memory of his gentle hand on her waist and when the world had consisted of them alone. She recalled him as he had been when she had been in love with him, her prince.

The wish came alive with its own pulse. For a few seconds Eddie felt a devouring need she had never experienced before. It was an all-consuming desire. It was the longing of a beloved pet to become the human companion a small child had wished for. Eddie was taken aback by the aspiration but she cast upon the wish her own yearning to be relieved of this guilt, to create life and not destroy it. The wish at last manifested into their mutual desires; a handsome young prince who had once been called "Jai Darzi".

Who was also quite naked as he stood before her.

She stared in the sort of fascinated horror at the person she had given life to, as surely if she had carried him in her womb. The power to create life was magnificent and terrifying.

"Can you talk?" she asked, hesitantly recalling Nejem's warning.

"Of course." The man drew her into a hug and Eddie stiffened as she blushed. Nejem also sighed in relief.

"Wonderful," Eddie mused as she stepped back, trying to comprehend what she had done. She hesitantly reached to touch a curl on his cheek, his hair was soft, and his flesh was warm. She had made him as he had been. No, could be.

“So…okay. Jai. This time around, you can be whoever you want to be. If you don’t want to be a prince, that’s fine. Be a man. Get married. Have kids. Work nine to five, whatever. I have no obligations for you. Okay? I just wanted you to have a second chance.” She tried to explain to him. He smiled, and his light was even greater than before.

“My name was never ‘Jai Darzi’, that’s the name of a dead man.” He informed her. His smile grew wider. “Call me ‘Padma’, Sita named me that.”

He began to tell his story. That he had been born a frog, loved by a little princess who had cherished and nurtured him. Of how the original Jai Darzi had died when he had tried to save her, and how Regan had offered to let him become his sister's prince. Eddie was nearly moved to tears at the story. She had never truly realized before that magic didn't simply exist among the spirits but in the most mundane and poignant minutiae of man as well.

“Do you want to be a prince again?” she asked softly after he had finished his tale. He nodded.

“Yes. I know I wasn’t a very good one the first time around, but maybe now, I have a better idea of what one must be.” He smiled at her. After all this, after all this suffering and remorse, he could still find the light that had allowed him to be what he could always become.

So this was what Stan wanted to cultivate; the simple magic of love and need that existed within his race. Stan wished to become a good magician, and the frog wished to be the loving prince. She reached up and removed Dougal's ring from her neck. She slipped it onto the man's neck and he looked up at her.

"This ring will protect you against fae illusions. If you throw it into water it will summon Dougal as well. It is my gift to you." She stood on her tip toes and kissed his cheek. "I would ask you to see me once more before I die, to show me how beautiful you've become."

The prince nodded and traced the etching of the horse upon the ring. He was now his own being, created entirely of his own desires, as anyone should be. Other sides must exist to him however, those of bitterness, regret, and guilt. If a prince could not exist in this world, he must be allowed to become something else.

“Be careful though, son, to ally yourself with that sort of creature,” Nejem warned. Padma nodded at her.

“Trust me, after this, it would be a near death experience.”

"Jai Darzi?" Kelly asked in shock. Eddie had not even seen or heard her or Matthew coming through the woods. Eddie wasn't exactly certain what must be more surprising, Padma's frank nudity or that the frog had been transformed once again.

"No, I am Padma now, as I was before. Jai Darzi died long ago." The man explained. He raised a hand to his chest. "Eddie has given me a new life and a chance to be a prince again."

"I knew…I knew, when I heard that you were that frog, I knew then that Jai must have died." Kelly looked away in pain. "Did Regan kill him?"

"No, he drowned, trying to save a little girl." Padma soothed. Matthew gave Eddie a curious look as he put his coat on the naked man. He was no doubt wondering how she had done this and she just gave him a small smile.

"It was what he really wanted," Eddie said by way of explaining and Matthew blinked.

"It was when I was mourning her death your brother first came to me," Padma continued. "He wanted me to be your prince but…"

He smiled at Matthew. "You already had one, and I was allowed to go astray."

Matthew stepped back in surprise and gave an awkward smile, obviously not sure what he should say. Padma shook his head and looked away.

"I did help Regan in his schemes; I was the one who drugged you Eddie, even as you asked to save me." He confessed miserably. "But no more. I will not squander another chance, especially when I didn't deserve this one."

"What will you do now?" Kelly asked.

"First, I will ask Isolde if she would be my mount again.” He smiled wryly at Kelly’s questioning expression. “She is quite a horse, after all.”

He chortled at the joke that only Eddie could smile at. He met her gaze in bemusement before he continued.

“Then I will go to Jai Darzi's parents and tell them how their real son died so that they can know he was a true prince. Then I think I will go back to the place I was born. I will never have another princess, but I will be the prince to many if I can." He decided. Kelly nodded in satisfaction.

"Well, feel free to stay until you get things sorted out, and help yourself to some clothes," the wise woman sighed a little as she glanced at the man with a small smirk. She raised her head up to look at Nejem. "And your cab is here, that's why we came out here."

"Tell them to wait a few more minutes if you please lad," she said to Matthew. "I'm not done with my good-byes."

Matthew left to escort Padma and do as he had been requested. Eddie called out again however. "Matt, I'm going home soon. See you soon?"

He paused. "Are you…all right? To stay alone?"

"Sarah will be stayin' with us for a while I think," she informed him. He frowned a little to hear that knowing it meant trouble at home for Sarah, but he nodded.

He kissed Eddie's forehead. "We'll have a good long talk, when this is all done."

Eddie nodded and let the man go without complaint. Nejem stepped forward to approach Kelly.

"Well, I am returning home. If you need something, call me. Though I imagine Rhona will be your right hand in this," the older wise woman said without bitterness or complaint. It seemed as if she had been satisfied to play her role and was ready to move on now that the conflict had been resolved. Kelly only nodded at her, apparently not having anything to say. Nejem seemed to take no offense and turned to Eddie next. She gave the young woman a kiss to the cheek before departing, an apparent gesture of benevolence and good luck. Kelly waited until Nejem had retreated into the home to speak.

"Well, good-bye then Eddie, I'm sure we'll see each other again soon." Kelly said softly. The happy, optimistic, unburdened princess had been replaced by the dour and controlled wise woman. The stark contrast made Eddie cringe.

"I, I do want to say I'm sorry. I wasn't intending for you to have to be the one…" She hesitated when Kelly looked up at her curiously. Eddie looked at her feet. "I wasn't thinking of what may happen to you or Regan by exposing him. All I wanted to know was the truth. I…knew things couldn't go on as they were but I didn't intend to make your life miserable."

Kelly was silent for a long moment before she answered.

"I'm not miserable. Before I was blissfully ignorant to all of the unhappiness around me and I was happy, yes, very happy. That happiness however was false. Now that I know…" She raised her hands up in a gesture of acceptance. "Happiness will be harder to come by, but when it does, it will be true, and thus far more meaningful than any I've felt before."

Eddie looked up at her and Kelly smiled, not the sort of pained smile she had expected but a genuine one of hope.

"I'm just afraid your brother may not love this new me," Kelly said with a small laugh. She showed Eddie the bracelet she had given her what felt like an entire life time ago. "But this…it still glows when I look at him. Naoise enchanted this, didn't he?"

"Did he call you with it?" Eddie asked as she remembered Regan's accusation that Naoise had tried to "ruin" Kelly.

"Yes, he was the first one to tell me to break that crystal," Kelly touched a few pensive fingers to her cheek at the memory. Eddie knew what she was thinking; though it had probably only been in vengeance against Regan he had done so.

"Naoise told me once that we cannot become something we are not." Eddie said and gently put a hand on Kelly's shoulder. "You were this Kelly too, all along, and Matthew came all this way to just be with this Kelly, the real one. If you let him, I think he can find the woman he fell in love with too."

For a second Kelly looked like her old self, forever bright and hopeful. She hugged Eddie and whispered "good bye" in her ear before turning to return to her home, fate, and love. She would do as they all must; live on in this splendid and unforgiving world. As Eddie watched the wise woman walk away a pair of arms encircled her. She shivered at the cold kiss to the neck. It was Dougal who spoke however.

"You gave away my ring lass?" Eddie glanced over Naoise's arm to where Dougal stood in the shadow of a fir. She nodded in answer.

"To Padma, the frog that was once Jai Darzi. I made him into a prince." It would always seem odd to say such a thing but Dougal readily accepted it.

"Did you?" Dougal cried. He shook his head. "Well if he is as handsome as before; I will thank you for that. I think I may look forward to our adventures together. I haven't ever served a prince however, those kind usually avoid my type."

"I think this one will be a bit different than most," Eddie admitted. Dougal seemed to accept that and with a flourish he disappeared into the shadows of the trees, to apparently leave the pair alone. Eddie raised her face to look up at Naoise. "Let's go down to the lake."

She showed him Regan’s ring. "To take this thing out of the world of humanity."

He nodded and stepped back to assume his equine form. Eddie mounted, it was a bit awkward to ride with the skirt of the dress crumpled around her waist but she didn't intend to let anyone get a good view of her bare legs. She wrapped her hands into Naoise's mane.

"Please, let's stay above the water, and just follow the back ways down," she requested. She didn't care to ruin the dress further though she had purposely picked out one that hadn't looked terribly expensive. She had a feeling she probably would do best to start wearing old light clothes around Naoise given his affinity for water. Or always keep around a change of them.

He shook his head and while he did follow the river down he remained in the shallows, leaving an iridescent cascade of splashes in his wake. He leapt over the highway in one bound and perhaps to the delight of some school children passing by in a bus. He thundered in majestic flight across the open fields with his hooves only touching the earth long enough to push him into further heights. Eddie pressed against his neck and only looked to the distant, future horizons.

He descended the cliff above his favored shore in a graceful leap and as he stopped before the water Eddie flicked her wrist in a forceful throw. The ring shone once in the sunlight before shattering the water's surface. It was lost to the world as it drowned in the realms of the kelpie. Eddie sighed and remained on the shore as Naoise dove into his lake. He was inspecting its environs after being gone for so many days.

She removed her jacket and used it as a pillow as she sunned on a flat boulder by the shore. It was perhaps a habit she had picked up from the water horse. She let the sun warm her skin as it drenched her in its light. She laid the back of her hand over her eyes as the sun reached its zenith. About an hour later Naoise returned. He confirmed the ring was sitting at the bottom of the lake where it would remain untouched by human hands.

But in his hand was another ring. One John Chang had returned to him. He stood over her with it. She raised her hand and accepted the moonstone ring. She smiled gently at the stone. In the coming days she find a ring for him. She already knew as Naoise was a faerie they needed no ceremony. The ring was a gift of protection, as hers would be. They needed nothing more than their desire to be together.

"We'll plant roses I think and tulips in these coming weeks," Eddie told the kelpie and frowned a little as Naoise sat in her sun. She didn't chase him away however as he had always looked so lovely with the light flooding his dark hair. She smiled and gently stroked Naoise's cheek with her fingertips.

“We’ll take the steers to market. We'll breeds the cows. We'll care for the calves when they're dropped and plant the crops of the next season. In summer we'll go swimming and nurture those crops. In fall the roses and tulips will die back, we'll harvest the crops, and wean the calves. In winter we'll preserve and wait for spring to come again. The years will pass and I'll finish my schooling and take over the ranch. We’ll have our kid when the time is right. We'll keep on living, together, as we want to. We’ll protect the basin together, and always have each other’s backs."

She paused in her caressing. "Is that the world you want Naoise?"

He gently took her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist, his personal gesture of tenderness.

"I will remain at your side until the day you die."

That was enough and she accepted his kiss when he leaned down to give it. There would be life and life for a very long time. The light of this world was theirs, and they would spend every day in it, for as long as they were given this time together.

In Naoise’s arms she knew eternity and in his love, she would know immortality. Naoise would outlive her but he too would live on. He would carry her memory to the end of all time and that would be her legacy.

His love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to keep a tab on me you can follow my twitter (@DMrgnstrn ) or tumblr (dmorgenstern). 
> 
> As for sequel, I've started on one but again with school, money, and now editing this, I don't know if it'll ever come to fruition. 
> 
> Thanks you all your support! Please feel free to leave feedback! (I am editing after all.)


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